Play@YSDC

Z-Day - 4:19 PM Central Time - Brooks High School, Omaha, Nebraska
In the north hall, ground floor-
LaTanya laughed when Darnell spoke. "Darnell, you know damn well I'm on the fencing team," she said. "I actually know how to use that sword. If you start poking it around, you're as likely to hurt yourself as anyone else." She went with him, Roy McCrumb, and Coach Ron Moore to the stairs.

"Thanks, kid," said Becky, taking the bat from Emilio and hurrying into the stairwell.

"Glad you made it to," said Chuck Lubachek to Keith Stewart. He pulled Tiny along on his leash after Becky. "Move it, you stupid dog!"

"Don't worry, Principal," said Emily before following him. "My son and his assistant will get your generator up and running. We'll bill you later."

"Right," said Principal Lawrence Adler. "Keep moving upstairs in an orderly fashion, everyone. I'll be the last one up. I need to make sure everyone down here is accounted for first. What about the gym door?"

"We shut it already!" Emily called back as she vanished into the stairwell.

"Boss, we can't just leave you here," said Laura Shelley, concerned.

"I'll be fine, Laura," the principal assured her. "You and Sharon just go. You too, Nurse Marquez." All three of them complied and entered the stairs. Only Emilio, Keith, and Miguel remained with him. He looked back toward the lobby, where he saw Amelia Delacroix.

"Principal Adler!" she called.

"Good to see you, Ms. Delacroix! Is there anyone else down there with you?"

"Tariq and Lori Desmond are right behind me!"

"Good, we're moving everyone upstairs, just in case."

Tariq walked into view right behind the chef and said: "I'm glad to see someone else, especially you. We were making lunch when the power went out, but we've salvaged some food that we can share. What is the plan now? It is a pity that we spent so much time doing fire drills and never drilled for a situation like this."

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
As the crowd moved in from the hallway, a few more people arrived from the basement stairs. Jerry Law and Alvin Drummond found themselves amidst the crowd. Voices spoke on Jerry's walkie-talkie. First Officer Kate Wheeler said: "This is Adam One - do you need a 10-89 at the stairwell? Do you need a hand with Adam?"

"Negative, Officer," replied Dr. Helene Saunders on the radio, "but thank you. We need you to keep those things from breaching the fence right now. Dr. Somerville is helping Adam, and there are more people on the way who might be able to help him if she cannot, and they are a lot closer. You're one of the few people with guns, and we're relying on you for our defense. Once we get the generator back up and running, we'll be all right. We just need to buy enough time to do that."

A wheelbarrow was parked just inside the fire exit. In it were a large wood axe and a chainsaw.

Jerry Law,[b]Jerry[/b] [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1913174/]noticed[/url] that [b]Kyle Rogers[/b] had gotten up ahead of him and was trying to mingle with the crowd and pretend he had been there all along, though [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1913173/]he wasn't trying hard enough[/url]. Why had he slipped away, and why didn't he want anyone to notice?

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Megan Petrovich entered the stairwell from the upstairs hall. On the flight leading up to the roof, she saw Adam Donnelly sitting dejectedly with his face buried in his hands. Dr. Liz Somerville leaned over him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Adam, it's Liz," she said, soothingly. "Please, get up. We need your help to repair the generator. We need that power, and I know you can do it. I have confidence in you, and you need to have confidence in yourself." He remained mostly unresponsive.

Adam Donnelly,You have four more rounds of insanity, including this one.

In the north hall, upper floor-
"Come on, children," said Julianne Landers when she saw Enrico Santini enter the special projects lab. "Everyone in there." She led her six students inside. Lisa Marley took her brother Doug's hand and tugged him after her.

In the special projects lab-
Officer Kate Wheeler's voice came from the walkie-talkie: "This is Adam One - do you need a 10-89 at the stairwell? Do you need a hand with Adam?"

"Negative, Officer," replied Dr. Helene Saunders on the radio, "but thank you. We need you to keep those things from breaching the fence right now. Dr. Somerville is helping Adam, and there are more people on the way who might be able to help him if she cannot, and they are a lot closer. You're one of the few people with guns, and we're relying on you for our defense. Once we get the generator back up and running, we'll be all right. We just need to buy enough time to do that."

Enrico Santini entered and went up to Chester Johsnon, whispering something in his ear.

Chester Johnson,"[b]Chester[/b], what's going on here?" he whispered. "Who's landing on the roof?"

OOC,Everyone else currently in the lab may roll Listen if you want to try to overhear this. If you succeed, go ahead and click the spoiler button above to see what he whispered.

Julianne entered shortly after him, leading six students with her: Heather Anderson, Doug and Lisa Marley, Teresa Vazquez, Kelly Cameron, and Sunny Kwon.

"Hey, Teresa!" said Diana, waving her friend over. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Me too," said Teresa, giving her a hug.

On the roof-
Rachel Cohen and everyone else on the roof heard the women speaking on the radio.

Erica Spears climbed out of the helicopter as the noise of the rotors died down. She tugged off the helmet of her flight suit, letting her lovely hair loose. "It's nice to meet all of you," she said. "I'm Trooper Erica Spears, Nebraska State Police." Another gunshot to the northwest drew her attention, and she saw the pack of ghouls at the fence, where a policewoman was shooting them. She only cringed a little, then unshouldered her M-16 and made her way to the corner of the roof. "I'll help pick 'em off. Stephanie, get to the lab and do whatever it is you've got to do."

Lucy Armstrong emerged from the co-pilot's seat, carrying a toolkit and a steel pipe. She had an M3A1 .45 Grease gun slung over her shoulder. "Hi, my name's Lucy," she said. "I'm a mechanic and I can help with the generator. How do I get to it?"

Dr. Bernard Smith got out of the rear seat. "I can get Mr. Donnelly back on his feet," he said. "I'm Dr. Bernard Smith. It's a pleasure." He held his door open for Stephanie, who climbed out carrying her laptop in its case.

"Thank you, doctor," she said as she hustled across the roof. "I'm Stephanie Bridges, and it's very good to meet all of you. We need to get to the lab right away. Hopefully the generator will be back up by the time I'm finished our work. It's nice to see you again, Rachel. I'm so relieved you're still among the living. I know we're in good hands with you watching our backs." She noticed the EMP generator. "Oh, good, Adam finished the EMP device. It's very important that nobody activates it until we finish our work and give the okay. It would not only kill any chance of powering the fence, it would also prevent us from transmitting a signal, and it's absoultely vital that we be able to communicate. If my theory is right, once we're done, which should be in about twenty minutes, we'll be able to use the EMP to take out all the ghouls within its range. Unfortunately, it'll also fry all unshielded electronics, but there's no way around that."

"The chopper's running on empty anyway," said Erica. "We were lucky to make it here in the first place."

Dr. Brigetta Hausmann followed Stephanie across the roof, cradling her broken arm.

Emilio followed the flow of people to the north stairwell and looked for the generator room. Was it downstairs?

Darnell said to LaTanya, "Baby watch your mouth. I hate it when you talk dirty you know." He pulled out the foil and used it to lightly spank her with. He then said, "Here you need a weapon and are better at this then I am anyway."

OOC,Yes, the generator is downstairs, in the basement. [b]Emilio[/b] can get into the stairwell this turn, but he'll have to wait until the next turn before he actually gets down there. Anyone who started this round in the stairs already can make it up or down one flight of stairs.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
LaTanya giggled. "Thanks, sweetie," she said, accepting the foil and holding it high overhead to keep it from poking anyone in the crowd. "Come on, let's get upstairs."

Keith Stewart

To Principal Adler, Emilio and Miguel:
"We gotta take the axe - and the chainsaw, well! it is the ultimate zombie dispatcher; (according to the films)."

Keith Stewart

OOC,Yes, Keith [u]must[/u] have the chainsaw. 8-)

Rachel Cohen

On the roof:
Rachel acknowledged Stephanie Bridges' comment and then follows Erica Spears, reminded of the reason she came up to the roof: to defend the school.

Rachel Cohen

Rachel surveyed the scene.

Darnell followed Latanya up the stairs.

-So, you were fast to come here, Kyle.
To Rachel:
-Do you need help to anything?

Rachel Cohen

To Michiko:
"That depends, got a strong stomach?, if so come with me to the northwest corner."

[sub]Rachel Cohen strides over the roof to join Erica Spears.[/sub]

-I will try what my poor habilities let me.

Chester


To Enrico, aloud:
"Until a few minutes ago, we've been holed up here safe from those...things...while the CDC figures out what the hell to do. The folks who came in by chopper have some data that Dr. Singh over here needs...Hmm...Now that I think about it..."

To Dr. Singh:
"Hey Singh...what now? Anything I can assist with now that the data have arrived?"

Adam


Adam, slumped on the stairs, struggles to pull himself back to reality...his mind reels, trying to make some sense of it all.

Frantically, he thinks aloud:
"Why here? Why us? All those kids...those people...Steph...is she ok? Gotta keep her safe...can't let those things at her...where's Steph? Should be here by now..."

Mr. Handy,I've got 2 more rounds of insanity, right?

Kyle Rogers,That was [b]Jerry Law[/b] talking to you in kabukiman's post. He must have spotted you in the crowd where you were trying to hide. You should post in this thread from now on and stop reading and posting in Power Failure.

Michiko Watanabe,Roll Spot Hidden again.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
"I think she's just landed on the roof," said Liz. "She should be down here soon. I hope she's all right too."

Adam Donnelly,You have the remainder of this round, and then three more after this. Your insanity may end earlier than that. [b]Liz[/b] will get another chance when I post a major update, and [b]Dr. Smith[/b] has a much better chance to help when he arrives.

Doug Marley:

Doug gives no resistance to his sister pulling his arm and follows her into the special projects lab. "I'm coming Lisa, you can stop pulling me now."

Michiko suddenly stops noticing something.

Rachel Cohen

On the roof, to Michiko:
"First of all Michiko, I am not your boss, if you don't want to do what I say, you tell me, okay?" Rachel checks to see she compehends. "Can you wander round the perimeter of the roof keeping an eye on those ghouls, or anything else unusual; if you spot something shout immediately to myself or Erica Spears."

Keith Stewart

In the stairwell. To anyone nearby:
"Who wants the axe?" Keith hoists the chainsaw, "Woo hoo, yeah man."

[sub]Keith tugs the pull cord of the chainsaw.[/sub]

In the stairway, Alvin looked around for Murry and whistled for him.

Megan Petrovich

Seeing Adam, Megan walks over calmly, trying to get a fix on what his problem might be. Besides, the CDC woman trying to help the school's security guard might know where she could get her hands on something to fight with - as much as Megan hated her posting in Iraq, her hands itched to feel the comforting, powerful weight of a weapon in them.

OOC,Oh Wise and Omnipotent Keeper, Megan shall use her war-trained bug-out detector to scope Adam out, see if she can offer any realistic advice.

Dr Singh

"Ah! The helicopter has arrived!" Grabbing his laptop, satchel and his notes, he hurries towards the roof, muttering to Chester "We shall see... I must greet Dr Hausmann appropriately!"

-Yes, Rachel-San, I will try to do my best.

Chester


Yelling after Dr. Singh:
"Ok! But I'm not going to sit around doing nothing while you sort it all out."

Turning back to Enrico:
"Listen, Enrico...while you guys were downstairs, did you block off any of the entrances or stairwells? We need to seal this building off as best we can to buy some time."

Michiko Watanabe,[b]Michiko[/b] could now clearly see the zombies at the northwest corner, and the sight was hideous and terrifying. [b]Kate Wheeler[/b] bravely stood her ground at the 15 yard line and fired at one of them, taking it down with two shots to the head. She had already destroyed another one and dropped a third to its hands and knees, leaving seven on their feet clawing at the fence. [b]Michiko[/b] also noticed that, here and there at various points around the school, a few more ghouls had shown up and begun to work at the fence. [b]Michiko[/b], roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 0/1d10. If you lose 5 or more Sanity, roll Idea. If the Idea roll fails, you're okay, but if it succeeds you will go temporarily insane.

Alvin Drummond,There was no sign of [b]Murray[/b]. He did not appear to have followed.

Megan Petrovich,Go ahead and roll Psychology to figure out what's wrong with him if you like, but your bonus does not apply in this situation - diagnosing mental illness. The base skill is only 5%. Even if you fail, his symptoms do seem familiar - she's known fellow soldiers to act this way when they cracked up in Iraq. Psychoanalysis would be needed to snap him out of it, but that only has a base skill of 1%.

Chester Johnson and Enrico Santini,Neither of you have been downstairs in a long time, but you do know that the southwest and southeast stairs have been barricaded, as has the front entrance. The fire exits have all been sealed except for a single door in the gym that has been propped open so those outside could get back in, as far as you know. The fire exits lock automatically when closed, but can be opened freely from inside.

Michiko saw in horror the creatures. But she managed somehow to keep calm.
-They are coming more! But from where? They cant' t be all from the cemetary. Unless... they are infecting normal people and turning in those creatures.

Rachel Cohen

Rachel approaches Erica Spears:
"Erica, I'm Rachel, I reckon together we can keep back these ghouls should they break through the fence. I would sure like a rifle and night sight!"
"Michiko, the Japanese student, is keeping a look out as well. I asked her to let us know of any trouble."

Elijah stands off to the side not sure if he can help at all.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Vice Principal Sharon Kaplan frowned when Keith Stewart picked up the chainsaw. "Careful with that," she said. "Those look like they're from the groundskeeper's shed. Mr. Woodridge must have brought them inside. I don't know if we should take them without his permission."

On the roof-
"It's good to meet you, Rachel," said Erica as she lined up a shot on one of the ghouls. "Unfortunately, this is the only rifle we've got, and there's only one magazine. We had more, but...we were forced to leave them back at the airfield where we landed to refuel."

"No, they're not all coming from the cemetery," Stephanie told Michiko as she hurried toward the stairs. "Buried bodies do rise, yes, but so does anyone who gets killed from any cause, whether they're bitten or not, unless there's enough damage to the brain or spine to keep them from functioning. I've seen it happen far too many times today. If what we're doing works, they won't rise any more and the dead will finally be able to rest in peace. The reason there are so many is that those meteorites that came down contained extraterrestrial organisms that resemble giant mosquitoes with an extremely poisonous sting. I only know of one person who saw them and lived. Fortunately, they die after a few hours of exposure to Earth's atmosphere."

-Really? So it's not some punishement from Heaven? That's good... I mean it's terrible but not so bad as if it was the god's punishing us. But they are coming more and more, I just hope that the others repair the fance quickly.




Jerry
He goes speaking to Vice Principal Sharon:
-Sir? I will try to create a small task force, so if anything goes wrong with the fence, we may have a group ready to fight those creatures and protecting or allowing the escape of the others.

Keith Stewart

North stairwell ground floor:
"Aw....., I suppose you're right Vice Principal Kaplan. Still, I intend to hang on to it, I don't care what anyone says. Old Woody can take the chainsaw off me if he wants it back!"

In the north hall, ground floor-
Miguel Garcia followed Keith Stewart into the stairwell, leaving the principal standing alone in the hall.

OOC,[b]Principal Lawrence Adler[/b] is moving to the thread linked below. Everyone else remains in the current thread.

On the Menu

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
"Good thinking, Jerry," said Sharon Kaplan. "Ask around for volunteers. Let's get upstairs, Laura." She and the secretary hurried up with the rest of the crowd, followed closely by Michelle Marquez.

Kate Wheeler spoke on Jerry Law's radio: "Copy that! Will continue to engage suspe- I mean, filthy ghoulies. Keep me advised on the situation. Over."

Miguel Garcia entered from the hall just as Murray the dog emerged from the basement stairs and went to Alvin Drummond's side.

"Get yourself upstairs with the others, Ma," said Chuck Lubachek. "Grab yourself that axe while you're at it. We'll fix the generator. Come on, Emilio." He went down the stairs into the basement, taking Tiny with him. Emily hefted the axe and went up the stairs following the others, right behind Becky.

The large crowd moved up the stairs. The group also included Coach Ron Moore, Roy McCrumb, Darnell Jones, LaTanya Washington, and Kyle Rogers.

On the roof-
Erica fired her M-16, hitting one of the zombies at the northwest corner of the fence in the head. Its skull was split open, and it fell. "Yeah!" cheered Erica. "Good luck, Steph!"

Rachel could tell that it would be a long-range shot to hit any of the zombies with her Desert Eagle, and it would be even more difficult with the Uzi. She might be able to hit, but for the best chance she would need to either wait for them to get closer, or get closer herself - and that would mean going down to the ground. If she fired now, she risked wasting ammo. At any rate, almost half of the pack she had seen was already down. Now that Erica had arrived, it looked like she and Kate could make short work of them. Kate's voice also came from her radio, annoucing her intentions.

"You too, Erica!" Stephanie called back. She spoke to Michiko one more time as she reached the stairs. "Yes, so do I. We need the power back on not only for the fence, but to finish our work too. With Adam Donnelly on the job, it shouldn't take long." She went downstairs with Lucy, Dr. Smith, and Dr. Hausmann.

Rachel Cohen,Roll Sanity for seeing the zombies. Sanity loss is 0/1d10, so you lose no Sanity if you succeed, but you lose 1d10 if you fail. If you lose 5 or more points, you must then roll Idea. If that roll fails, you're okay, but if it succeeds, then you will go temporarily insane. If you remain sane and want to shoot, you'll be at half skill at this range while using precision aim. The -5 penalty for targeting the head is applied after halving your skill. You may fire one shot from the Desert Eagle or two single shots with the Uzi if you wish to. When firing the Uzi in single shot mode, you can use your Handgun skill instead of Submachine Gun. Thus, instead of 75%, your effective skill would be 37.5%. This would be reduced to 32.5% for aiming at the head, so you'd only hit on a 32 or less. You might want to conserve your ammo instead.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
"Adam, please get up," said Liz soothingly. "Stephanie's going to be all right, but we're going to need your help to fix the generator. She'll be here any second now. You don't want her to see you like this, do you?" She still wasn't getting through to him, though.

The stairwell soon became very crowded. A large group of people had come up from the ground floor, Megan and Dr. Singh entered from the hall, and Stephanie Bridges, Dr. Hausmann and the others came down from the roof. Stephanie's heart fell when she saw Adam Donnelly sitting on the stairs. While she was happy to see him again, his current state had her very concerned. "Oh, Adam," she said, placing a comforting hand on his arm while holding the laptop in her free hand. Dr. Hausmann was right behind her, her broken left arm in a sling. "Don't give up. We're finally here, and we've got what we need to finish up. It'll only take another twenty minutes or so, but we need the power back on."

"Stephanie!" said Liz with a smile, rising and embracing her friend.

"It's so good to see you again, Liz," she said, hugging her. "You too, Dr. Singh. Where's the lab?"

"Through the door, first door on your left."

"You better get to it, then," said Dr. Bernard Smith. "I'll help Mr. Donnelly."

"Where's the generator?" asked Lucy Armstrong. "I can help fix it."

"All the way down in the basement," said Liz. "First door on the right when you get down there." She looked at the mob of people on the stairs. "Won't be easy to get past all of them, though."

OOC,Anyone going downstairs from here will have to make a DEX x 5 roll to get past the crowd coming up from the ground floor. If you succeed, you make it down to the ground floor this round. If you fail, you end up getting nowhere, thus losing this round. You can go up to the roof or into the hall on this floor without rolling anything.

In the special projects lab-
Dr. Helene Saunders's walkie-talkie squawked as Kate Wheeler spoke.

"What's going to happen?" asked Kelly Cameron. "Without the power, that fence won't hold up."

"Oh, God," moaned Heather Anderson. "We're, like, totally gonna die!"

"Please, remain calm, everyone," said Dr. Saunders. "They're fixing the generator right now, and Dr. Hausmann has arrived at last. Now that she's here, we have a chance."

"How is she supposed to help?" asked Julianne Landers. She peeked nervously out the window . "What are we going to do?"

Rachel Cohen

Rachel saw the zombies beyond the fence; she felt relief that sight of the creatures had no effect upon her.
She decided not to fire her weapons because at this range the ammunition would be uselessly wasted.
To Erica Spears:
"I overheard that your helicopter is out of fuel, is there any chance of getting some more?"

Keith Stewart

North Stairwell. To Miguel Garcia:
"I told Kaplan where to go, I ain't taking shit from nobody, ha! ha!"

Dr Singh

"Ah, Ms Bridges! A pleasure to see you again!"

Seeing Dr Hausmann, Dr Singh laughs happily, and goes to embrace her - "Dr Hausmann, we have been waiting for you anxiously! Do you- " seeing her arm in a sling, he stops his embrace but pats her on her good shoulder in an affectionate-comrade-way. "Ah, but I see you have been in the wars! Is the data O.K.? Are you hurt badly?"

Megan

Megan couldn't think of anything that Adam might be suffering from - she couldn't recall anything useful from her one hostage-sit psych lecture. Noticing the stairwell getting rather crowded with all the joyous reunions, followers and fix-it people, she decided to hang back a bit, looking to see if she could help anywhere - she couldn't give any lectures at the moment, nor did she have a weapon. Perhaps she could go back to chaperoning the children, let her Hero-mind take the backseat a bit.

In the Northstairwell, ground floor:
Allen bent over and petted Murry and then he picked the dog up to keep him from being trampled. He started to climb the stairs.

In the Northstarwell, second floor:
Darnell emerged from the stairwell with LaTanya. He saw that most of the crowd was going to the special projects lab. He whispered to LaTanya, "Hey you want to sneak into the science lab and work on a "science project" that needs two people?"

On the roof-
"Not unless you've got some here or can bring it in from somewhere else," Erica told Rachel. "There are airports in Omaha, but they'll probably be swamped with the dead. The chopper has barely any fuel left in the tank. We'd be lucky to get it another mile."

In the football field, Kate Wheeler gunned down another zombie and waved her thanks to Erica, who gave her a thumbs up before lining up her next shot.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
"I like the way you think, Darnell," said LaTanya. "Lead the way."

"Thank you, Dr. Singh," said Dr. Hausmann. "I will live, ja. The data is wunderbar. Stephanie is working on the, ah, code problem. She is almost done. We also have brought data on our biological research. She copied it onto this thumb drive during the flight." She took out a thumb drive from her pocket with her good hand and gave it to Dr. Singh. "Just put it in any computer and you can access it. Let us get to the lab, schnell."

Stephanie tore herself away from Adam and Liz. "Thank you, Dr. Singh," she said with a smile. "We'd better hurry. I don't know how much time we have."

OOC,[b]Adam[/b] is a technician, not a former cop. I'll be running [b]Dr. Hausmann[/b] as an NPC until Laraqua is ready to join back in and start posting for her.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Miguel snickered. "Come on, we better get upstairs," he said.

Darnell turned to Roy and said, "Cover for me buddy ok?" He then grabbed LaTanya by the hand and pulled her out into the hallway heading toward the science lab.

Rachel Cohen

On the roof:
Rachel watched on as others took action, it was against her nature and she felt helpless.

Emilio followed Chuck down to the basement clutching the bat as he did so. Who knew what they´d encounter down in the boiler room?

Jerry tried to call everybody attention:
-Boys and girls! I need a group of volunteer to help against those creatures until the power is restored. It will be only for fighting some minutes, but it may be necessary, if they breack it

Rachel Cohen

OOC,kabukiman, where is Jerry?

Alvin called down the stairwell, "Jerry I will be down to help out in a minute as soon as the students and teachers get past me."

Alvin told Law that he would stay and defend the downstairs for now but he wanted to go up eventually.

-So, anyone else want to stay here?-asks Jerry

***THe coach nods toward jerry and flips his sword in from hand to hand.***

Ill stay with ya.

Keith Stewart

To Jerry, etc.:
"Hey you guys, I want in now I've got this beauty," Keith pats the chainsaw's casing.
To Miguel Garcia:
"You coming too? Could be kinda fun!"

Adam


Despite his madness, Adam brightens at the sight of Stephanie. His mind quickly flashes back to the horror he witnessed and his face darkens once more.

He mutters incomprehensibly aloud: "Here, but not safe. No one's safe. Not with those things out there. No power. No fence. They're coming."

Chester


Chester paces back and forth in the lab, eagerly awaiting Dr. Singh's return.

Dr Singh

Receiving the thumbdrive from Dr Hausmann caused a not-unpleasant shiver to run down his spine - At last! One step closer to the answer! To my breakthrough!

With the largest grin on his face, he thanked Dr Hausmann profusely, his boyish enthusiasm rather uncharacteristic. Then, turning on his heel, he strides quickly towards the lab, pausing to call for Dr Somerville - "Quickly, Dr Somerville! I have the data - at least we can have some hard facts!"

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Emilio Montoya followed his boss downstairs.

OOC,[b]Becky Clarke[/b], [b]Chuck Lubachek[/b], [b]Tiny[/b], and [b]Emilio[/b] are moving to the thread linked below. Please stop reading the current thread at this point, and do not read any posts in the new thread that are above the linked post. Everyone else remains in the current thread.

Power Failure

Ron Moore easily made it past the crowd and back down to the ground floor. Lucy Armstrong, a tough-looking woman carrying a steel pipe and a toolkit, followed in his wake.

"You can count on me," said Miguel Garcia. "I'll stay down here and fight too. Got any more nightsticks, Mr. Law?"

Jerry Law,There are two more nightsticks locked up in a cabinet in the security office, if you recall. You have the keys.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
"We're going to stop them from coming, Adam," said Stephanie. "Give me twenty minutes and get the power back on, and I'll have the job done."

"You're welcome, Dr. Singh," said Dr. Hausmann. "Come, Stephanie."

"It'll be all right, Adam." Stephanie went arm in arm with Dr. Liz Somerville back into the hall and to the special projects lab, following Dr. Hausmann. The rest of the crowd went behind them.

Dr. Bernard Smith sat on the steps beside Adam Donnelly and put an arm around his shoulders. "Come on, young man," he said. "You can do this. That lady is counting on you, and she knows you've got what it takes." His words finally got through.

OOC,[b]Adam Donnelly[/b], you're no longer temporarily insane and may act freely. If you wish to go downstairs, you don't need to roll anything at this point. The crowd has passed.

In the north hall, upper floor-
Dr. Hausmann, Dr. Somerville, and Stephanie Bridges led the way into the lab. After them came Sharon Kaplan, Laura Shelley, Michelle Marquez, and Emily Lubachek.

"You got it, buddy," Roy McCrumb told Darnell Jones as the wide receiver went with LaTanya Washington around the corner to the left. Roy stood at the intersection and stood watch, and he easily noticed Kyle Rogers slinking off through the intersection and toward the south. He quickly followed him. "Where do you think you're going, you little punk?" he asked.

In the special projects lab-
The people in the lab looked up as Dr. Singh and the women entered. Liz went with him over to their laptop, which was where they had left it on the counter. "Let's see what we've got," she said.

Stephanie and Dr. Hausmann hurried over to the communications apparatus, where Dr. Helene Saunders stood waiting. "It is so good to have you here at last, Dr. Hausmann," she said. "You too, Ms. Bridges. I understand we have your ideas to thank for our continued existence."

Stephanie smiled. "You're welcome, Doctor, but don't thank me yet," she said. "Our work's not quite done. Let's get set up fast." She opened up her carrying case and placed her laptop on the counter next to the NASA gear. She plugged it into a wall socket, flipped it open, and picked up where she had left off.

"I am very glad to be here at last," said Dr. Hausmann. "I am sorry for the delay. If only we had gotten here sooner, more lives might have been saved."

On the roof-
Erica fired again, hitting and blowing open another ghoul's head. "Yeah!" she cheered, grinning at Rachel. "Another one bites the dust!" Five of the zombies had been destroyed, leaving four standing and one crawling.

Darnell held onto LaTanya's hand as he entered the science lab. Once inside he closed the door and pushed her gently to the wall giving her a long kiss. He came up for air and said, "I missed you baby"

Rachel Cohen

Rachel compliments the excellent shooting of Erica, "Good work, I admire a job well done!"

-Yes, in the security office. Just come with me quick- says Jerry.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
"Great, let's go get them," said Miguel. He opened the door leading back to the hall and went with Jerry.

In the science lab-
LaTanya smiled back at Darnell. "I missed you too," she said. "With everything that's happened today, it's really made me think about the future. About our future."

On the roof-
"Thank you!" Erica told Rachel with a grin. "So you know Stephanie? She's impressed by your talents too, and she always knows what she's talking about. Between the two of us and that cop out there, we should be able to keep the scientists safe long enough to do whatever it is they're doing."

Allen followed Law to the Security Office



Darnell said, "Well you know once we get this mess cleaned up I am a shoo in for Nebraska or some Class I NCAA school. Then after three years I get drafted to the NFL, hopefully the Chicago Bears as they need a good WR, and if you want to we will be married by then and have what you think 3 kids?"

In the science lab-
"Yes, I'd like that," said LaTanya. "Maybe we could get married and start a family sooner rather than later. I know you'd make a wonderful father."

"Well maybe we should get married tonight or at least do what married people do on thier honeymoon right now? We can do it on the floor behind the table and won't get in trouble baby."

Mr. Handy,Sorry dude. I love playing a horny teenager. :)

Keith Stewart

[sub]Keith follows Jerry.[/sub]

Zombie,Of course - zombies, guns and sex! The best damned game ever! :D ... No jokes on necrophilia though - they get a bit cold.

Dr Singh

Excitedly setting up his own laptop, he boots up the necessary programs and inserts the data stick into the USB port.


Megan

Megan, feeling a little useless, decides to head to the roof to see the helicopter - if she's not busy with anything she may as well indulge her growing love of army machinery!

Vice Principal Sharon Kaplan had remained relatively quiet for some time now. She was consumed in her own thoughts. Despite the years of schooling she had been subject to nothing could have prepared her for this.There was a strong suspicion in her mind that whatever the security guard was doing, it might be important. Perhaps she could make the best of this situation. Finally she spoke

"If none of you need me here, I think I will join Jerry."

However, before anyone could respond she had already left.

Adam


Adam's splintered mind finally manages to piece itself back together. His courage bolstered by Stephanie's support and Dr. Smith's wisdom, Adam grips his toolkit and stands tall on the stairs.

"Thanks for your help, Doc. Man, was I a mess... As insane as this all may be, sitting here crying about it won't help us."

Adam thinks to himself: "Shit, I really hope these people won't judge me too hard...especially Steph...Guess the only way to redeem myself is by fixing that generator."

"Ok, then. Time to go turn on the lights."

Adam looks down the dimly lit stairwell, sets his jaw, and heads down to the basement in search of the generator.

Chester


Chester sees the group of scientists enter the lab.

"Great! You're back! Now...can we shed any more light on this whole zombie thing? Can we stop them?"

Diana Forester


"So..." Diana said.

It was only now that she had begun to peel herself off her friend. Slowly they moved away from each other until they were absorbed by the crowd. She had let too much time pass and done nothing of use whatsoever. Now was the time for action! If she wasn't careful, she would end up an expendable character like in those B horror movies. Now Diana wished she had rented more zombie films instead of her typical alien stuff.

Now she bobbed her head slowly to the sound of the crowd. The whole room was getting a bit noisy for her tastes and she was too lazy to go searching for Teresa. As she sighed she spyed her escape. Adam had just announced his plans to fix the generator. She wasn't sure how much she could help him, but everyone loved company, right?

She ran after Adam.

OOC,[b]Dr. Singh[/b] has just been very eager to get his hands on that data, Pentadragon. Note that even though most of the characters are in this thread, you're in several different areas. You won't be aware of what's going on in any area that's not immediately adjacent to your own (see the maps for reference). If something else is two areas away, or if it shares a wall with your current location even if there is no door, you'll probably be able to make out any sounds with a Listen roll - like [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1939152/]this one[/url]. Since it succeeded, there's no problem. [b]Sharon Kaplan[/b] and [b]Diana Forester[/b] were in the special projects lab, so they wouldn't necessarily hear what's going on in the stairwell. [b]Sharon[/b] almost certainly can't hear [b]Jerry[/b] talking, since he is also down on the ground floor, but she did hear him mention earlier that he was looking for people to help him. Likewise, [b]Diana[/b] would need a Listen roll to hear [b]Adam[/b] talking. Both of them have spent the last round making their way to the north stairwell, and they are now on the upper floor. It takes one round to go up or down each flight of stairs.

On the roof-
Megan Petrovich emerged onto the roof, and she saw that the helicopter was not a military one after all. It belonged to the Nebraska State Police, and its pilot, Trooper Erica Spears, was at the northwest corner of the roof pointing an M-16 at a small group of ghouls at the northwest corner of the fence. She was strikingly beautiful, with short auburn hair, and she wore a flight suit. Rachel Cohen was beside her, and Michiko Watanabe and Elijah Smith also stood nearby. In the football field, far to the northwest, she could see Officer Kate Wheeler shooting at the zombies with her pistol.

Erica watched with dismay as Kate tried to fire at another zombie, but nothing happened. Erica took another shot. It was perfect, drilling the creature right between the eyes and dropping it. Only three remained on their feet, and one was on its knees clawing at the fence. "She shoots, she scores!" cheered Erica.

OOC,[b]Megan[/b], roll Sanity for seeing the zombies. Sanity loss is 0/1d10. If you succeed, you lose no Sanity, but if you fail you lose 1d10. If you lose 5 or more, you must roll Idea. Succeeding at that roll means you go temporarily insane. You want to fail the Idea roll, as then you'll still be in control of yourself.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
"Any time!" called Dr. Smith to Adam as the younger man headed downstairs. "Good luck!" He went out the door into the hall, passing Sharon Kaplan and Diana Forester as they entered. He stood aside and held the door open for them, nodding his head in greeting before heading for the lab.

In the north hall, upper floor-
Dr. Smith exited the stairwell and passed through the door to the special projects lab. Further south, Roy McCrumb followed Kyle Rogers to the balcony overlooking the lobby.

On the balcony-
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" snarled Roy as he trailed behind Kyle.

"Leave me alone!" snapped Kyle.

"Leave me alone!" Roy mimicked his voice, making it higher and whinier.

"I mean it! Don't mess with me!"

Roy prodded him with the end of his bat. "What are you going to do about it, jerkwad? What are you up to, anyway?"

In the science lab-
"Maybe later, once the lights come back on," said LaTanya. "We need to stay alert until those...things are dealt with. Wouldn't want to get caught with our pants down. You think you'll be ready to be a dad in nine months, Darnell?"

In the special projects lab-
Dr. Somerville joined Dr. Singh at his laptop as he brought up the data.

Dr. Edward Singh and Dr. Liz Somerville,Both scientists started looking over the data. The first file they opened described a substance dubbed the "Leonid Compound," named after the Leonid meteor showers which had been depositing it all over the Earth in recent years. This compound was extremely complex and difficult to analyze, but it appeared to have an pseudo-organic component. However, that component was nothing like any known lifeform. According to [b]Dr. Hausmann[/b]'s notes, this compound is believed to be part of a chemical formula that required a trigger in order to activate it, and when activated it would generate a virus. Her latest notes, dated this morning, indicated that she believed that trigger happened within the last day, and that it was either caused by or coincident with last night's meteor shower. [b]Dr. Singh[/b], roll Biology.

"Yes, I think we can," said Stephanie as she typed rapidly. "If what I'm doing works, it will help us in many ways. One of those ways is to render the dead susceptible to an electromagnetic pulse. I've discovered that the process that reanimates dead bodies is electrical in nature, and that an EMP will shut them down - provided there's no outside interference. That's what that device on the roof is for, the one Adam built, but we can't use it until this is done. An EMP has the unfortunate side effect of destroying all integrated circuits within its area of effect - which should be the entire city of Omaha from my brief look at it after we landed. That would fry all our computers, but we can protect the laptops by wrapping them completely in aluminum foil before we activate the pulse generator. It also means we'll lose our electricity, but if this works we won't need the fence to be electrified any more. I just hope we've got enough time."

Dr. Helene Saunders nodded. "It's a price we'll have to pay. There are many thousands of them in Omaha, and we'll never stop them otherwise. And the signal you're going to transmit will stop this...outside interference?"

"I sure hope so."

Dr. Bernard Smith ambled into the lab. "Adam's back on his feet," he said. "He's heading down to try to fix the generator."

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Lucy Armstrong continued downstairs to the basement, while Keith, Miguel, Alvin, and Murray followed Jerry Law into the hall. Coach Moore remained in the stairwell. Adam Donnelly arrived from above.

OOC,I'm assuming [b]Murray[/b] follows [b]Alvin[/b], since there hasn't been a post for him. [b]Lucy Armstrong[/b] is moving to the thread linked below. Her player, if there ever is one, should stop reading the current thread at this point and should not read any posts above the one linked to in the new thread. Everyone else remains in the current thread.

Power Failure

In the north hall, ground floor-
Keith, Miguel, Alvin, and Murray followed Jerry through the hall on his way back to the lobby.

OOC,Everyone in this hall, roll LIsten.

Alvin stopped and held his hand up, "Did anyone hear that?"

In the scicence Lab:

Darnell sighed and said, "Well I really do not want to have a kid now. But see earlier on the way to the assembly when we heard bout this I stopped in the bathroom and got some condums so we are safe babe. Plus there is no gurantee we will make it till morning. With the electricity off those things could make it in here and we could die! Don't you want some pleasure before pain baby?" It appeared to Darnell that Latanya was being swayed and he said to her, "Or I have a better plan. Last semester when I was doing my term paper on Sex and Religion I was shown a copy of the Kama Sutra which the librarian keeps in a locked drawer in her desk. I think I can open up that drawer and we can at least look at the book and discuss possible events. Sound cool? If so lets go?"

Alvin Drummond,[b]Alvin[/b] heard someone pounding on one of the fire exits on the east side of the building. It was either in the gym, the kitchen, or the cafeteria, but he couldn't be entirely sure which one.

OOC,Anyone who passes the Listen roll will hear the same thing and should click the above button to find out what the sound was.

In the North Hallway, ground floor:

Alvin said, "Jerry I hear someone pounding on one of the fire exits either in the gym, the kitchen, or the cafeteria. It may be Kate. She was the only one out there when I came in. We need to go help her out!"

Vice Principal Sharon Kaplan

Vice Principal Sharon continued her brisk walk down the stairs and toward the Security Office. She wondered how she could have been so stupid not to think of it sooner. Such a place was sure to be of use. She giggled to herself.

Diana Forester

Diana immediately reconsidered her goal of going into the basement when the power came on. It was only when she saw the Vice Principal however, that she completely and totally abandoned her plans. To Diana, Vice Principal Kaplan was something from the deepest depths of the Uncanny Valley. She was a mechanical woman whose only human emotion seemed to be disgust. All others were crude attempts which never failed to unnerve her.

She waited until it was out of sight before considering her next movement. Things seemed to be being held together by everyone, except her. She breathed once before deciding that she might be able to assist by researching. Information, any information really was useful. Now, though she had to decide between the Computer Lab and the Library. While she would have a wider selection of information in the computer lab (along with communication with some of her friends on the Internet), there was still no power and she may get stuck wasting precious time before it came on. The library on the other hand had a smaller selection of information but did not recquire electricity and could be easily barricaded with the bookshelves.

After a moment of contemplation, she made her decision and began her trek to the library. This will certainly be interesting.

Mr. Handy wrote:

OOC,Actually the power has [i]already[/i] gone out, some seven minutes ago. Even if it were still on, nobody has been able to connect to the Internet since very early this morning, whether through computers or mobile devices. The Internet Service Providers have simply been unreachable, and a connection cannot be established. Computers work okay offline, provided there's power.

OOC,Ah, my apologies. I do not know what I was reading, but I could have sworn that the power had gone back on. My apologies, I will edit. It really doesn't change my action though. I amstill heading to the library.

Adam


Adam arrives at the same level as Coach Moore. He sees the man equipped with bow, arrows, and a sabre.

"So, are you the cowboys...or the indians?"

He smirks at the man.

"My name's Adam, and if you're not too busy, I wouldn't mind a little backup downstairs while I fix that generator. Decide quick, 'cause this train doesn't stop."

Adam begins his descent into the basement.

Jerry didn'thear anything.
-Are you sure? Well, take the key, go to the office and grab anything you may find useful, close the door and return as quickly as you can to the others. I will check the gymm first.

Keith Stewart

OOC,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1942461/]Listen roll.[/url]

"Shall we come with you Jerry, to check out the gym?" Keith asks nervously.

Rachel Cohen

On the roof:

[sub]Another superb shot by Erica Spears.[/sub]

"Erica, do you think Kate Wheeler's gun has jammed? Shall we call her back to the school?"

In the science lab-
"Yeah, let's go to the library," said LaTanya. "We've done it the normal way before, so it'll be nice to try something new for a change."

On the roof-
"Kate's the police officer out there?" asked Erica as she picked out her next target. "Yeah, looks like her gun might have jammed. You've got the radio, so you can reach her. There are only a few left now, so I should be able to finish them if she can't clear the jam, but this is the only magazine I've got left and I need to save every bullet I can."

Megan

Seeing the M-16 in Erica's hands, Megan smiled - action at last!.

Reflexively she looked towards Erica's mark as the shot cracked out. "Fuck! Mary Mother-fucking Mohammad! Megan had seen horror movies, hell, she'd fought in one! But the semi-rotted, maggoty torn flesh, the mindless and pathetic way they clawed at the fence... Even the one trying to crawl under the fence, brain and blood oozing from a hole in its skull...

"Fuck."


Dr Singh

As Dr Singh examined the data, he realised he was baffled! He felt a giddy rush as he began to relive the thrill of his first research project, out working on the field - cheap, nasty equipment, incompetent and moronic supervisors, a race to get the first published paper... He could not keep his grin from Dr Somerville; "Interesting..."

Zombies be damned! I'm going to crack their mystery, and spill their secrets out for the world to see through my world-shaking papers, changing the face of science forever! A new version of carbon-based life! Dormant viruses hidden, completely disguised, until activation by a foreign agent! Retrotranposons? A mitochondria-like symbiotic descendant? I will be famous, I -

"What?!" He snapped about to face Dr Saunders, horror shocking him from his daydream - "You... You can't... EMP...! You can't destroy...!"

Rachel Cohen

Speaking into the radio:
"Officer Kate Wheeler, this is Rachel Cohen up on the school roof. The ghouls are covered from here, come back to the school." Rachel waves her arm and beckons to Kate Wheeler.

Keith Stewart

"I'm sticking with the group, Jerry. I don't wanna be zombie food, I like my brains and they can stay in here." Keith taps his head.

Chester


Chester grows increasingly frustrated by a feeling of uselessness. He hears Dr. Saunders mentioning a signal...

"Wait a minute. Signal? What outside interference? I assumed you were working on a simulation of the spread of zombie infestation. What the hell are we doing here?"

Special Projects Lab

"Whats interesting?" asked Liz, herself feeling quite confused.

OOC,When you roll 2d10 on Invisible Castle, it assumes you want to add them together. To roll percentile dice without adding them, you can roll 1d100 instead.

On the roof-
Megan shuddered at the sight. Now she knew what had so unnerved Adam Donnelly, but she managed to keep her head on straight. Rachel and the State Trooper looked okay, as did Michiko and Elijah.

Erica squeezed the trigger again, drilling another one in the forehead and slaying it as well.

In the north hall, upper floor-
Diana Forester emerged from the stairwell and headed south past the intersection. As she walked, Darnell Jones and LaTanya Washington emerged from the east side of the intersection and walked alongside her to the south.

"Hi, Diana!" said LaTanya with a smile. "How are you doing?"

OOC,[b]Darnell[/b] and [b]Diana[/b], roll Listen. The base skill level is 25%.

On the balcony-
"I'm just getting something from my locker," said Kyle.

"Oh, really?" asked Roy, following him to the locker. "Whatcha got in there? Drugs? It's drugs, isn't it?"

"I'm not getting drugs. Just go away, or you'll be sorry."

Roy laughed. "I think you got that backwards, punk. I can kick your ass with one arm tied behind my back!"

"Gee, most of us kick with our legs anyway."

"Let's see what you got in there. Now open it...or I'll open you!"

Kyle looked at Roy with sheer hatred. You've bullied me for the last time! he thought. "Fine, I'll open it!" he spat out. "But you'll be sorry..." He spun the dial on the combination lock and opened the door.

In the special projects lab-
"We would only use the EMP as a last resort," said Dr. Saunders, "if the school gets overrun and there's no other way. I think they'll restore the power before that happens, though."

Stephanie nodded as she typed. "I'm hoping it won't be necessary too," she said, "but if it is we can protect the laptops and the data on them from the pulse. Just wrap them completely in aluminum foil, leaving no gaps. The pulse will just wash over them without affecting them, just like food in a microwave won't get cooked when it's wrapped in foil. It's called a Faraday cage." She looked at Chester. "I'd like to explain it to you, but some of what we're doing has to remain secret. If it were up to me, I'd tell you, but Dr. Hausmann still insists on secrecy. All you need to know is that what we're doing will deal with the root cause of the crisis, and it should be done in a little over 15 minutes."

Dr. Hausmann nodded. "Ja, that's right," she said. "You are better off not knowing anyway, I think." She walked over to the other scientists who were looking over her data on their own laptop. "Ah, yes, my notes. Perhaps I can help explain my findings. I wrote them, after all, and I've been studying these phenomena for some time. I have come to some important conclusions. The virus is contained within the compound. It consists of nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coat, like a regular virus, but it is not exactly like DNA of any known life. There are other, new nucleotides, unknown anywhere else. It is a retrovirus, so it mutates constantly to protect itself from immune systems. The virus is normally dormant, but it requires a chemical trigger to activate. That trigger was deposited in last night's meteor shower."

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Adam continued down the stairs into darkness, using his flashlight to see. The coach remained where he was, apparently guarding the stairs. Sharon Kaplan arrived from upstairs.

OOC,[b]Adam Donnelly[/b] is moving to the thread linked below. Please stop reading the current thread at this point, and don't read any posts above the one linked to below in the new thread. Everyone else remains in the current thread.

Power Failure

In the north hall, ground floor-
Miguel took the keys from Jerry. "I'll get the nightsticks from the security office," he said. "I'll be right back!" He hurried off into the lobby. Murray followed the others into the gym.

In the gym-
The gym appeared deserted, and both fire exits were closed. The pounding sound was even louder now, though Alvin could tell it wasn't coming from either door in the gym.

OOC,[b]Jerry[/b], [b]Keith[/b], [b]Alvin[/b], and [b]Murray[/b], roll Spot Hidden. By the way, [b]Jerry[/b] and everyone with him also heard [b]Rachel[/b]'s radio message, as did everyone in the special projects lab.

Keith Stewart

"That is weird, I thought that maybe it was the female cop trying to get in."

Keith Stewart

Keith has a good look round the gym.

In the North Hall, Upper Floor:

Darnell smiled at Diana and said, "Where you going?" As he walked he kept his ears attuned to his surroundings but did not hear anything.


In the Gym:

Alvin stayed a bit apart from the group with Murry by his side. He was used to that however. Something about the combination of cigar smoke, sweat, and BO made people stay away. He was used to his stink however. In fact he had smelled the same way for years since Vietnam come to think of it. Now he was back in a war situation. His eyes narrowed as he tried to see any danger in the gym his hatchet at the ready. He thought he saw something and pointed it out to the group.

In the gym-
Alvin noticed that the door to the athletic supply closet was open, the padlock that normally kept it locked lying on the floor nearby. Inside he could see a couple of bows and two quivers of arrows, two baseball bats, a dozen hockey sticks, a saber, a fencing foil, and two epeés. There were also balls of various shapes and sizes, though there were no baseballs, as well as two hockey goals and a net that could be used for tennis or volleyball.

Alvin said, "Group we have some weapons. I suggest arming yourselves now"

Diana Forrester

Diana was her name and reading was her game. Diana marched her way through the empty hall in an attempt to give the illusion of company. If she somehow suddenly forgot what was happened, the first clue that whatever it was was very very bad would be the empty hallway. Why were vacant hallways so unsettling?


LESSON: Don’t think you can’t be surprised. Paranoia can be your friend.


LaTanya nearly gave her a heart attack. She swung around, her eyes wide and arms flailing like propellers.

"Jesus." she said, "Don't scare me!"

Her heart pumped with fury in her chest and she slowed to a temporary stop. Diana looked in her sudden visitor's general direction. She could see Darnell Jones standing slightly behind her. Diana had not really ever spoken extensively with either of them. This was mostly because to the fact that she was a Sophomore, however it was also partially due to their differences of interests. Despite their lack of a formal meeting, she knew both well. Darnell was a player of the football team and being tutored by Elijah. LaTanya was a cheerleader who (if her memory served correct) was quite a good fencer. Based on what she had heard in school, the two were currently dating.

"I'm heading to library. I really can't do anything useful right now. All the positions are taken! So I thought I'd try doin' some research." Diana added, "Besides, if they break in, it would probably be easy to barricade with all of the shelves."


LESSON: Silence is golden. The more noise you make, the more you attract attention. The best policy was not to make noise


In the short pause of silence that followed, Diana could have sworn she heard something. Some sort of noise that she could not place her finger on. This was suddenly forgotten as she remembered what she should be doing.

"If you want to come with me, you are more than welcome to," she chimed, "you know that in zombie movies the larger the group the better. Much more character development."

With that she continued her march to her destination.


Vice Principal Sharon Kaplan

The Vice Principal continued her steady pace toward the Security Office. It was suprising that she had only been in the room once or twice in her time at the school. Hopefully, it was worth the jog there. She felt her nerves welling up within her. Those... zombies were going to break through eventually and she wanted to be far away as pssible when it happened.

She furrowed her brow. Right now she wished that she had never come to the dreadful school in the first place. She wished she had not dropped out of law school. She wished she was soaking in one of those tubs on television ads. The one with the perfect amount of clear soothing water in it. The one sprinkled with rose petals. She felt intoxicated by the imagined pleasure. Perhaps things might end well after all.

She was completely and utterly unaware.

Mr Zombie killer wrote:

Pentadragon,Darnell is a Senior not a Junior

OOC,Ah, my apologies. I keep making these mistakes. I need to either type these earlier in the evening or pay more attention. I assumed Darnell was a Junior because LaTanya was. My apologies.

Jerry failed to see anything.
-Seems everything is ok here, let's leave this place. Let's go to the kitchen and then the cafeteria

Kabukiman,I think you see what everyone sees since Alvin pointed it out to you which is the open weapon cabinet.

Penttadragon,No worries my friend.

Chester, in the Special Projects Lab


"Deposited in last night's meteor shower? So this is...extraterrestrial in origin?"

Chester pauses to consider the ramifications of this revelation.

"I've always thought there was a high probability of extraterrestrial life. Now...I'm not sure whether I should be more amazed or horrified. I mean, this retrovirus...is either a freak occurrence...or...or...biological warfare."

Keith Stewart

In the gym:
"Hold on Jerry, Alvin has noticed that closet door open," Keith points across the gym, "lets tool up. I've got The Beast already," indicating the chainsaw he holds, "but a sabre will do nicely too."

Rachel Cohen

On the roof:

Mr Handy,What is happening with Kate Wheeler, is she coming back to the school?

Keith Stewart

"Me tired? Bring 'em on! Hey you guys, I've got a Joint," Keith lights it up, "anyone want a toke?"

Alvin grabbed 4 tennis balls which he put in his pocket while still carrying the bottle in one hand.

Handy,What are the damage for this . I know the skill used is throw. Is it the same damage as the baseballs which I wrote down for Darnell?

Alvin said, "I am ready. If everyone else is lets go. But maybe you need some weapon other then that nightstick Jerry. Maybe the bow and arrow set?"

Keith Stewart

In between puffs of his Joint, Keith says, "Okay I'm ready too, lead on."

Jerry goes to the kitchen.

Alvin whistles to Murry and prepares to follow Jerry

Keith Stewart

In the gym:
"Jerry, Alvin, tell you what we didn't sort out, (although my mind is getting hazy about detail); that noise which Alvin heard coming from here. How about the fire exit which leads to the construction site?"

Rachel Cohen

On the roof:
"Michiko, how are you doing? Seen anything unusual? And thank you for looking out."

Alvin said, "Uhh Keith the only one who was outside was the cop and she was no where near the construction site so I would be careful opening that door. Maybe uhh Jerry can you get on your radio and check where the cop is and if she is near the door to the construcion site we can open the door but otherwise I vote against that move."

Keith Stewart

"Okay Alvin, but maybe we should open the fire exit and neutralize any threat; we can all be ready with our weapons; I vote we open the door. What do you think Jerry?"

OOC,My apologies for holding things back so much! I got quite busy quite suddenly, but it's sorted out.

Megan

Shuddering, Megan walked over to where Erica was set, and crouched beside her, intent on observing the zombies for future reference (and admiring the ace-shooting from Erica!) She cheered along with Rachael as Erica drilled another zombie through the face.



Dr Singh

Still flabbergasted at the talk of EMPs and destruction, Dr Singh pulled himself together enough to listen - a little jealously - to Dr Hausmann's conclusion. After a moment of thought, he questioned Dr Hausmann - "That would explain the rapid spread in areas around the meteor showers, if they indeed were a vector for the trigger. But, from our simulation, even a gas-phase delivery of the trigger would only account for a quarter or less of the infected predicted - what about the ones purportedly able to, er, regenerate and 'resurrect'? Is the trigger a contact-toxin? It doesn't fit."

During his questioning he, didn't look often at Dr Hausmann. Instead, he glanced at Stephenie and Dr Saunders suspiciously, almost accusingly.

OOC,Don't worry about it, Tangerine. I know what it's like to be busy all too well.

In the north hall, upper floor-
LaTanya, Darnell, and Diana walked south down the hallway and onto the balcony.

OOC,[b]Darnell Jones[/b], [b]Roy McCrumb[/b], [b]LaTanya Washington[/b], [b]Kyle Rogers[/b], and [b]Diana Forester[/b] are moving to the thread linked below. Please stop reading the current thread at this point. Everyone else remains in the current thread.

Showdown

On the roof-
"Thanks, gals!" said Erica with a grin. She fired again, but this shot went a little wide. "Guess you can't hit every time."

Rachel heard Kate's reply on the radio: "Copy, thanks for the assist - not one of my best days at target practice! On my way back - need an eight-five-two to steady the nerves, I think." In the distance, she could see the policewoman running across the football field back to the school while trying to clear her jammed pistol. Then Kate spoke on the radio again in response to Jerry Law. "Copy, Law. I'm at the northwest corner of the fence. The, er, 'unruly' crowd has been mostly subdued. Someone on the roof is playing Charles, er, taking over for me. There's three left at the fence, I'm on my way back in. Fancy joinin' me for an eight-five-two?"

Then there was the sound of a somewhat distant shotgun blast.

OOC,Everyone, roll Listen to try to determine where the shotgun blast came from.

In the special projects lab-
Everyone in the lab also heard Kate speaking on Dr. Saunders's radio.

"It's no freak occurrence," said Stephanie as she typed, in response to Chester Johnson. "Humanity has been targeted for extermination. I've always believed in extraterrestrial life too, but I didn't want that belief confirmed like this. I'd rather have been wrong."

"You are correct, Dr. Singh," said Dr. Hausmann. "The reanimation of the already deceased would not explain the numbers we're seeing. There was something else that came down in some of those meteorites, something very much alive. Stephanie, you can explain about that. You have more knowledge of it than I do."

"The meteorites didn't just contain this chemical trigger," said Stephanie. "They were a kind of capsule designed to contain biological organisms and preserve them through entry into the Earth's atmosphere and collision with the ground. These organisms resemble gigantic mosquitos, and they have a poisonous sting in their tails. The meteorites also contained a sulfurous gas. Perhaps the creatures breathe it, but that's just speculation at this point. They're extremely deadly, and only one person I know of survived an encounter with them. He saw six people slaughtered when one of these meteorites burst open and released a swarm of these things, all in a matter of seconds. The meteorite's opening may have been triggered by humans approaching it. Fortunately, these creatures seem to die quickly in Earth's atmosphere. He found a whole bunch of dead ones on a roadside later on. These alien creatures came down all over the world, especially in cities. They must have killed millions of people very rapidly with their stings, and then those people rose from the dead and attacked the living. Their bites are poisonous in a similar manner, though I'm not certain if it's the same toxin. The retrovirus doesn't appear to affect the living, as our immune systems can suppress it, but I think it's what causes the cadavers to reanimate." She was interrupted by a somewhat distant shotgun blast. "Oh my God!"

OOC,Everyone, roll Listen to try to determine where the blast came from.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Adam Donnelly returned upstairs, encountering Coach Ron Moore again. Both men heard a somewhat distant shotgun blast.

OOC,[b]Ron Moore[/b] and [b]Adam Donnelly[/b], roll Listen to try to determine where the blast came from.

In the north hall, ground floor-
Sharon Kaplan exited the stairwell and made her way south through the north hall toward the lobby. Ahead of her she could see Miguel Garcia enter the lobby. She too heard the shotgun blast.

OOC,[b]Sharon Kaplan[/b], roll Listen to try to determine where the blast came from.

In the lobby-
Miguel Garcia entered the lobby from the north hall and hurried to the door of the security office. He was right outside the door when the blast rang out.

In the gym-
Jerry's radio squawked with Kate's reply. There was some more loud pounding somewhere to the south, followed by a metallic crash. Then everyone in the gym heard the shotgun blast.

OOC,Everyone in the gym, roll Listen to try to determine where the blast came from. Nobody actually left the gym yet, but you may do so now.

Vice Principal Sharon Kaplan

It was several seconds before the sound of the blast stopped repeating itself in her ears. As it is with most people, the sound of a shotgun blast startled her quite a bit. She stopped in her tracks and turned her head wildly in an attempt to find the source of the noise but without avail.

She slowly continued her walk toward the security office. Sharon wondered if she should be continuing on. She was the vice principal and those sorts of things were not welcome in her school. However, there were probably people closer tp and better suited for whatever was happening. Despite these crude attempts to comfort herself she still felt guilty. What could she possiblely do? In fact, this was incentive to walk more swiftly to her destination.

She began jogging toward Miguel Garcia.

***The coach looks down the hall towards he blast sound, then back at adam. He readies his saber.***

"What the hell was that?...Maybe we should go take a look"

Special Projects Lab

Julianne jumps at the sound of the shotgun blast. She clutches a counter top with one hand and and covers her mouth with the other. She freezes, trying to tell where the echoes in the halls are traveling from. Trembling, she looks toward the Lab exit.

"W-was that... from the Lockers?"

OOC,She will see that, but she hasn't seen it yet. I'll post that in the next major update. She spent the current round moving to the lobby, so she can't act again yet in response to it. [b]Roy[/b] moved to the Showdown thread. Remember that there are other players who don't have characters in that thread, so be careful about revealing spoilers out of character. If your character has some knowledge of the events (such as [b]Julianne[/b], who succeeded at her Listen roll), he or she can reveal the information in character.

Julianne Landers,[b]Julianne[/b] doesn't know exactly where [b]Keith[/b] is. The last she knew, he was downstairs somewhere, but that was quite a while ago. She can make it to the north stairwell this round if she's heading that way, but she'll have to wait until next round to go down.

Special Projects Lab

Julianne turns to the others in the Lab with a wild look on her face.

"Yes! It was from the front! It sounded so close... It had to be the Lockers!"

Hoping that someone else would check it out, she makes no move to investigate. Instead she moves toward her students.

"Kids, stay right where you are!"

Alvin heard the blast echo in the hallways but he could not determine where it came from. Instead he hit the ground and rolled to the nearby bleachers to take cover as he had been taught in Vietnam.

Rachel Cohen

On the roof:
Rachel hears Officer Kate Wheeler's radio message and is happy she is returning to the school. Then the shotgun blasts, she has a clear impression of the direction of its noise.

Keith Stewart

In the gym:
The debate over whether or not to open the fire exit is interrupted by a shotgun blast, "Oh crap," whispers Keith. He knows where the blast came from.

Jerry wasn't interested to open a door when he heard the blast, but didn't had any idea from where it was.

Michiko,can she make any roll to detect changes?

Megan

"Damn, almost!" exclaimed Megan as Erica's next shot went wide. Hearing Kate's replies, Megan said "Is it just the cop out there alone, or is anyone else outside?"

Turning her head to look at the helicopter, she pondered whether she might be able to acquire a weapon - perhaps Erica had a spare handgun stashed? She knew that most seasoned fighters always kept a -

Suddenly, a shotgun blast boomed within the school, and Megan's instincts didn't let her down this time.


Dr Singh

Dr Singh frowned as he assimilated this knowledge - his papers would definitely be more challenging to publish now. He would have to also credit Dr Hausmman. Interesting.

"..!" Dr Singh's interruption was interrupted by a shotgun blast that seemed to echo in the lab. Amazingly, Dr Singh realised that he could infer the direction of the shot rather well for a lab-dwelling scientist.

OOC,Because all CDC scientists are now trained in the subtle art and science of Pinpointing Locations of Shotgun Blasts in Unfamiliar School Buildings (101) :P I like my rolls today!

OOC,Yes, [b]Michiko[/b] can roll Listen like everyone else to try to figure out where the sound came from. She can also roll Spot Hidden to find out if she can see anything new from up on the roof. So can everyone else on the roof, for that matter. The base skill level for both Listen and Spot Hidden is 25%.

On the roof-
Megan's and Rachel's keen hearing helped them determine that the blast had come from the upper floor, in the center of the south end of the school building. Then Rachel's radio crackled, and Kate spoke again: "This is Officer Wheeler. The doors are all shut on the north side - you guys taking precautions or is something up? I'm on the south of the football field near the rear carpark. Something's got me a bit suspicious - I can see a hole in a new foundation block over at the construction yard. Anyone know about that?"

In the special projects lab-
Everyone in the lab also heard Kate's speech from Dr. Saunders's radio. Dr. Singh could tell that the shotgun blast had come from this floor, at the south end of the building.

In the gym-
Kate's voice came from Jerry's radio, and those in the gym heard it. Keith was also able to tell that the shot came from the south end of the building, possibly upstairs.

Rachel Cohen

On the roof:
Rachel, the CDC security expert, is torn between events, should she check on the lab or stay put? She scans round the school, but doesn't see anything new.

Keith Stewart

Keith listens to Officer Wheeler on Jerry's radio, "Told you so, that female cop outside is onto something - whatever it is - it's beyond that fire exit door," Keith jabs his finger at it.
"And that shot, I'm certain it was fired in the locker room."

-I don't know abouth the hole. I think it's better that you return inside. You our best shooter and it would be a disaster if something... happened to you. Get inside.
Then Jerry speaks to the others:
Let's go to the locker area on the second floor balcony to see what was that.



She sawsomething but didn't heard anything.

Keith Stewart

Keith ponders on what it could be in the construction site and decides he does not want to find out. Sticking with Jerry and Alvin seems the safe bet. "Okay Jerry, I'm coming with you."

Rachel Cohen

On the roof, speaking to Erica and Megan:
"I must check the lab and ensure the CDC personnel are okay."

Mr Handy,Do Erica or Megan have a radiio?, if not Rachel will give Erica hers; then head for the stairs and the lab.

Adam, in the north stairwell, ground floor...


To Coach Moore:
"Yeah, I heard it too. I think I know where it came from. Let's check it out."

Adam pauses a moment and reaches for his walkie-talkie.

"Hey, Helene, this is Adam. I hope you still have your walkie... I left the generator room in the hands of four people who seem to know what they're doing. It should be up soon. I was heading back up to the EMP to do final checks when we heard this gun shot. We're going to check it out quick. Over"

Chester, in the special projects lab:


Chester hears the shotgun blast.

"Did that shot just come from where I think it came from?"

Alvin nooded and said, "I got point" He then took up position at the head of the group holding his hatchet in one hand and the bottle in the other.

OOC,[b]Adam[/b] doesn't actually have a walkie-talkie. He gave it to [b]Rachel[/b], and [b]Dr. Saunders[/b] still has her own.

In the north hall, ground floor-
Sharon hurried south, into the lobby, where Miguel Garcia already was. Alvin Drummond led the way out of the gym and into the hall, followed by Murray, Keith, and Jerry. As they did, two pistol shots rang out followed immediately by another shotgun blast.

OOC,[b]Alvin Drummond[/b], [b]Murray[/b], [b]Keith Stewart[/b], and [b]Jerry Law[/b], roll Spot Hidden. [b]Sharon Kaplan[/b] and [b]Miguel Garcia[/b] are moving to the thread linked below. Please stop reading the current thread at this point. [b]Sharon[/b]'s player already has a character in the new thread, but if anyone ever plays [b]Miguel[/b], do not read any posts in it above the one in the link. Everyone else remains in the current thread.

Showdown

On the roof-
"Yes, please look after Stephanie," said Erica as Rachel headed downstairs. "I've got my own radio, so call me if you need help." She took aim at one of the zombies at the fence again and fired, hitting it but failing to down it. A pair of pistol shots sounded from within the building, followed right away by another shotgun blast.

OOC,We can assume you tell [b]Erica[/b] the frequency you've been using, so now she can hear and talk to the others with radios, including [b]Rachel[/b].

Michiko Watanabe,[b]Michiko[/b] saw [b]Kate Wheeler[/b] running southeast across the rear parking lot, vanishing behind the northeast corner of the school building. She also noticed that, in addition to the three zombies remaining at the northwest corner of the fence, there were more zombies here and there all around the fence. They were clawing at it and had gotten most of the way through.

In the special projects lab-
Dr. Hausmann drew her pistol with her good hand, facing the door but making no move toward it. Stephanie also instinctively patted her pocket and felt the reassuring weight of her own handgun. "Liz," she said as she continued to type. "I've got a gun and one spare magazine. I can't afford to interrupt my work, so you can borrow them if you need them. I remember from those times we went out to the range together that you're a decent shot." Everyone heard two pistol shots and another shotgun blast, coming from the same direction. "As I was saying, it's the virus that causes the bodies to animate, but it needs electricity to 'jump start' it. Once activated, they can function without additional power, but eventually they'd wind down and collapse. Second Law of Thermodynamics and all that. That would probably take years and years, though, and we don't have that long. If what I'm doing works, that initializing electrical impulse will stop, and the dead will stay dead. The ones that have already been initialized will still be roaming around until they're stopped."

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Adam hurried on up the stairs as more gunshots were heard, while Ron Moore remained where he was. Lucy and Becky arrived from the basement.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Rachel and Adam arrived on the landing at the same time, from different directions.

Keith Stewart

Keith is oblivious to his surroundings. The shots are loud and frightening.

Rachel Cohen

The north stairwell, upper floor:
"Good to see you back on your feet, Adam. I'm going down to the lab. I never thought any danger would come from within the school."

Alvin carefully led the group out of the gym. His senses were all at the ready. For the first time in years he felt alive and this time it was not because of whiskey or because he was luckly enough to get a spot in the local shelter on a cold night for the price of hearing a sermon. Now it felt like he was back in the jungle and he knew that it would be up to himself to protect this squad. As he carefully led the group out into the hall he scanned the hall and saw something out of the corner of his eye. He held his hand up to keep the others back and faced what he saw with his weapons at the ready.

In the north stairwell, second floor-
Rachel and Adam heard Kate's voice on Rachel's radio: "This is Officer Kate Wheeler. I have a Code 1 here - the hole is man-shaped, is empty. Fire door to kitchen has been removed somehow - cafeteria and gym door intact. Request -, er, should I investigate? Anyone inside the kitchen?"

In the special projects lab-
Everyone in the lab could also hear Kate speaking from Dr. Saunders's radio.

In the north hall, ground floor-
The group in the hall also heard Kate.

Alvin Drummond,[b]Alvin[/b] saw [b]Sharon Kaplan[/b] enter the lobby from the hall a short distance ahead. [b]Miguel Garcia[/b] was already in there, crouched behind the security desk and firing a Glock 9mm handgun at something on the balcony. He also spotted [b]Roy McCrumb[/b] on the lobby floor clutching his bat, though he didn't appear to be hurt.

Alvin motioned to the group what he saw and had them keep back out of the line of sight of whomever was above

Special Projects Lab


Hearing more shots down the hall, Julianne's need for a valium is washed over by an icy rush. She braces herself and moves toward the scientists in long, confident strides, trying to speak in a low voice.

"Those things must be getting in... possibly through that hole in the wall. If the school is invaded we have to defend this room. I'll to try to get a spare pistol from one of the others. If I find one I'll bring it back. Any event, I will at least see what's happening out there."

As she speaks she looks around the room for anything she can take with her.

Mr Handy,Sorry, but do I need to roll for Spot Hidden to look for an emergency axe or at least a fire extinguisher in the room?

Special Projects Lab


Julianne pauses, still scanning the room for anything that could be used for self defense, but sees nothing.

She then goes to the fire extinguisher, unclasps the metal bands and takes it from the wall, glancing at Stephanie and the others apologetically.

"Sorry about this... I'll try to bring it back in just a moment."

She pushes her pumps off with her toes and heads for the door barefoot, speed-reading the instructions on the tank as she goes.

Keith Stewart

"What do we do Alvin, Goddamnit? Miguel is one of the good guys, you must help him!"

Alvin nooded and said to Law, "Okay lets go. Keith stay back rookie we do not want to lose you. Law and I know what to do in a firefight."

North Stairwell


Becky leans on her baseball bat like a cane as she climbs the stairs, making a repetitive clacking sound that reverberates in the stairwell, in rhythm with her panting.

"Yeah, well I'm sure ready to smash something."

Mr Handy,I'm thinking that Becky & Lucy are at the second floor since you said that they have arrived... should I roll 'Listen' to determine whether Becky heard more shooting?

Alvin told his group, "Your right, lets go to the lobby. Keith you may come but stay well back. we cannot use one as young as you."

Keith Stewart

"Alvin, Jerry, good luck."

Rachel Cohen




[sub]Rachel is heading down the stairs on her way to the Science Lab.[/sub]

In the north hall, ground floor-
Alvin and Jerry Law led the way south into the lobby, with Keith and Murray close behind them.

OOC,[b]Alvin Drummond[/b], [b]Murray[/b], [b]Keith Stewart[/b], and [b]Jerry Law[/b] are moving to the thread linked below. Please stop reading the current thread at this point. [b]Alvin[/b]'s player already has a character in the new thread, but the others should not read any posts in it above the one in the link. Everyone else remains in the current thread.

Showdown

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Becky and Lucy continued upstairs, while Ron Moore remained where he was.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Adam continued on his way up to the roof, while Rachel stepped into the hallway and hurried back to the lab. Becky and Lucy then reached the landing from below.

On the roof-
"Thanks, Michiko," said Erica, looking around. "I sure hope they get the power on fast so Stephanie can finish what she's doing. I'll deal with the ones at the northwest corner first. They're already most of the way through the fence." She took aim at her next target and fired again. Her bullet struck the undamaged zombie in the temple and pulverized its head. This left only the two injured ones.

Adam Donnelly emerged from the stairs onto the roof. Elijah Smith watched the action nervously, while Megan Petrovich seemed to be enjoying it.

In the north hall, upper floor-
Julianne Landers emerged from the classroom carrying the fire extinguisher. As she did, Rachel entered from the stairwell and hurried past her into the special projects lab.

In the special projects lab-
"Be careful!" called Stephanie to Julianne when she left. She continued typing rapidly. Now she was in the home stretch, but all of the chaos around her made her worry.

Dr. Helene Saunders looked up as Rachel Cohen entered. She then spoke into the radio to answer Kate: "Officer Wheeler, if one of those things has gotten inside, it must be stopped. If it kills anyone, we could be dealing with more than one soon. We must buy as much time as possible so the power can be restored. Rachel just came back to the lab, but she's nowhere near the kitchen. There have been shots fired inside the school, a shotgun and a pistol. I don't know why yet. It's up to you what you feel is most important to investigate. We need your help, but you must take care of yourself too."

Julianna is drawn toward the shouting and banging coming from the balcony area. After pausing to check the east & west halls for intruders, she moves quickly south down the center hall. She reflexively presses her back against one wall and slides along it as she goes. approaching the balcony, she slows down to a creep, trying to see or hear what's going on before she exposes herself to who-knows-what. She reaches the end of the hall holding the nozzle up in front of her, the extinguisher unpinned and ready to spray.

Becky holds the bat high as she half-stumbles into the the hall from the north stairwell, looking ahead frantically for any movement. She only sees the strange sight of that prissy blonde bitch sneaking down the hall toward the balcony with a fire extinguisher. Stomping angrily once she is convinced that the coast is clear, Becky begrudgingly follows Lucy into the lab, hoping that there are some more people with guns in there and not just a bunch of damn pansies.

Rachel Cohen

In the lab:
"Beitsim! What the hell is happening?" she exclaims. Rachel gets a grip on herself, "Everyone okay in here?"

Becky Clarke,Becky will be delighted to see that Rachel has a large handgun holstered at her waist and (even better), an Uzi, slung by its strap over her shoulder.

In the special projects lab-
"Yes, Rachel, we're all fine," said Dr. Saunders. "Kate Wheeler said she found some sort of hole in the concrete in the construction area, and something apparently had come out of it and broken in the kitchen door. Those shots that were fired came from the locker area to the south, but we have no idea what they're about."

Rachel Cohen

In the lab:
"So something has got inside the school. Zayin! It could be anywhere; I'd go and hunt for it.... but you people are vital for all of our survival.

"Dr.Saunders, how long do the scientists need to finish the work here?"

In the special projects lab-
"Kate said the kitchen door had been broken in downstairs," said Dr. Saunders. "She's in a better position to deal with it than you are, and we need you here with those shots fired nearby. It shouldn't be that much longer to finish up, but we'll need the power back on."

"I'll be done in less than fifteen minutes," said Stephanie as she typed.

Adam, on the roof:


Adam scans the roof, seeing the two adults and two students. He yells out to them:

"You guys are doing a great job up here. Shouldn't be too much longer now. That generator will be up soon, Steph will finish her job, and we'll send these things back to Hell!"

Adam thinks to himself: "Wow, Adam, sounds simple when you put it that way...doesn't it?"

He walks over to the EMP device.

Mr Handy,Can I roll electronics or something to assess the condition of the EMP device?

Chester, in the special projects lab:


Chester, starting to feel a bit claustrophobic, counts the number of people in the room...

He muses to himself:"...nineteen, twenty, twenty-one...Heh...is it crowded in here, or is it just me? Granted, it's better that we're together...or does that just make us a buffet?"

Adam, on the roof...


Adam inspects the EMP generator, but can't be sure if it's cobbled together properly...

"Hrrm..."

Mr Handy,So...what's the protocol on trying again? :mrgreen:

Rachel Cohen


[sub]Rachel positions herself in the lab doorway and scans the corridor in both directions; she also tries the door handle of the Science Classroom opposite.[/sub]

Dr Singh

Dr Singh's daydreams of grandeur are slowly washed away by the mounting anxiety in the room. Seeing Chester look about the room, Dr Singh has a similar thought - his recall of the spread-of-infection simulation doesn't help.

No use trying to publish posthumously... Besides, these reanimated organisms won't respect the safety and biocontainment protocols of the lab.

"Dr Hausmann, is there anything I could be doing to help expedite this work? I've run the simulation over and over, as has Dr Somerville - the data is on this laptop."

Megan Petrovich

After Erica has taken her last shot, Megan asks; "You wouldn't happen to have a firearm for me, would you? I served in Iraq - not being armed when there's shit going down like this gets me nervous..."

OOC,Everyone is moving to the thread linked below.

Endgame