Play@YSDC

Z-Day - 4:39 PM Central Time - Brooks High School, Omaha, Nebraska
In the locker room area-
"Okay," said LaTanya with a grin. "Teresa designed the uniforms. She's got a great career ahead of her in fashion. Wait here, I'll be back in a couple minutes." LaTanya went into the girls' locker room.

In the auditorium-
Declan was already rushing the other zombie. "You lunkheads should have known better than to mess with an angry Irishman!" he yelled, winding up his fist. He punched it in the head, cracking its skull wide open. "Yeah! Let's go get drunk!" He looked at the two open doorways. "Hmm, guess that'll have to wait. We'd better do something about those first."

In the east hall, ground floor-
After Donald left through the door into the cafeteria, Michelle broke down weeping. She closed her eyes against the tears, pressed the pistol's barrel to her head, and shot herself in the temple. She collapsed to the floor, barely conscious.

In the construction area-
"Absolutely right, Jerry," said Principal Adler. "We have to barricade this exit. Everyone back inside!"

"Come on, Roy!" called the coach. "You're on injured reserve now. Darnell will have to dump the Gatorade on my head, but you sure can be there."

Adler went back in behind Kate, Murray, and Coach Moore, quickening his pace when he heard the shot from within. He and the coach pulled Sharon with them, leaving Roy standing alone amidst the carnage.

In the kitchen-
Becky and Rachel heard the gunshot from back the way they had come right after they entered the kitchen. Kate and the others hurried back inside from the construction area.

In the cafeteria-
Donald stopped in his tracks when he heard the gunshot behind him. Dr. Bernard Smith spun on his heel and ran back into the east hall, along with Chuck Lubachek and Tiny.

In the special projects lab-
"Well, we hope so," said Stephanie to Tariq, typing rapidly on the laptop's keyboard. "What we're doing won't solve everything right away, but it's a necessary first step. Otherwise, humanity would be doomed. Once I finish this I'll be able to transmit a signal into space that should stop the dead from reanimating. The dead that have already risen will still be up, but at that point an EMP will be able to put them down for good. We can save not only ourselves, but all of Omaha. Then we'll be able to do something about the rest of the world."

Ali emerged from the crowd and ran over to Tariq, hugging his father. "I'm so relieved you're all right, father!" he said. "You hear that? We're going to be all right! Mom's going to be all right!"

"Hmph!" said Dr. Singh, working on his own computer. "Sending messages to aliens who may or may not believe them isn't going to save the world, it's my biological research that will win the day!" He looked over at Dr. Hausmann and Dr. Somerville. "Er, I mean our biological research."

"In the long term, yes," said Stephanie, "but only if we pull this off first. Otherwise we won't survive long enough to complete your research, Dr. Singh. I'm just finishing up now. It should only be another minute or so. I've almost got it, I'm so close!"

Dr. Hausmann took the lead and bandaged Kyle's ribs, mending much of the damage. "Ja, he will be fine," she said. "The ribs are not truly broken, just minor fractures." Kyle slowly regained consciousness and took in his surroundings. Dr. Liz Somerville was able to help him further, also doing an excellent job. Dr. Helene Saunders only got in the way when she tried to treat the bruise on his head.

On the roof-
Megan also began to patrol the roof, walking in the opposite direction. She frowned when she saw something below while peering over the edge. "Two of the auditorium doors have been smashed open!" she said. "I don't see any walking corpses around, so I'm guessing they already got inside."

-Another creature? Coach take a group and take care of the menace, I'l stay here to secure this place as quickly as possible.

OOC: What can Jerry do to barricade the place?

"Hey, Declan! Hold up! I´ll grab this heap of flesh and tug it out the doors to the corridor." Emilio grabs the dead form of what once had been a girl by the feet and drags it towards the doors they just entered. "We´ll better barricade the corridor doors. There are too many exits from the auditorium!" He checks if there are any benches they could use to prop up the corridor doors with. "Come on Declan! Let´s get this sample to the labs!"

OOC: Any volunter to help Jerry?

Donald turns about, shocked at how close the gunshot was, and dashed back out to the east hall, where he saw Michelle's condition. He shook his head and said "I guess I gave the wrong pep talk." He reached down to relinquish the pistol from the girl before anyone else claimed it. After all, some bastard stole his chainsaw.

ooc,If it's needed... [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2076521/]Sanity (59%) (1d100=65)[/url]

The close gunshot made Becky jump before she could even think of a reply to Rachel. She spun and pointed back the way they had just come. "It was right back there!"

Seeing nothing on her own survey, Julianne runs to join Megan overlooking the auditorium doors.

"Oh God I didn't see that!"

She squeezes Megan's arm,

"Do you see anything else approaching from the fence? I have to go warn everyone I can find!"

Roy limps and then breaks into a painful trot to keep up with Coach and the others as they chase down the unexpected gunshot.

"I'll lend a hand, Jerry, tell me what to do."

"Dammit! There is something happening behind us."

Tariq is relieved to see his son.

"Ali! I'm very glad you're safe. Please tell me that you weren't involved in any of the awful things some of the students here have been doing."

In the Kitchen:
Alvin said to Jerry, " I will help you sir."


In the locker room hallway:

Darnell said, "Uhh no. I think we should keep an eye on each other since we are not sure what is what anymore. I am coming in there." He entered the girls locker room and looked around.

OOC: Since we are 3 to combine the str, I think it's better that you do the roll Mr Handy...

Tariq suddenly turns his head from his son and adresses the scientists.

"I would think about what you are doing first. I hope you have a way to reverse it in case there are unintended consequences."

Then he turns back to his son.

Hoping for the exit doors to remain free of further intrusion, Emilio tugged at the feet of the corpse. Shouting towards the kitchen area, he screams when he get out the corridor, "I´ve got one here. Taking it up to the labs. Need some help - we have multiple breaches in the auditorium. We have to secure the doors of the corridor!"

In the girls' locker room-
Darnell and LaTanya walked through the locker room and looked around. Everything was exactly as they remembered it the last time they had been in there, and nobody was in either the locker or shower area. Now that the power had been restored, the lights were on again.

"Looks clear," said LaTanya. "Watch the door while I go change." She opened up her locker.

In the auditorium-
Declan helped Emilio with the woman's body, and together they were easily able to carry it out into the hall.

OOC,There are no benches. There are rows of individual seats much like in a movie theater, but the seats are bolted to the floor.

In the north hall, ground floor-
Emilio and Declan emerged into the hall through the double doors. "I'm not sure what we can barricade the auditorium doors off with," he said, "but that's a better idea than trying to block off the two broken ones. We could slide a metal bar or something through the handles, but that won't hold for long. Maybe we can drag out some tables and heavy equipment from my shop classroom. The door's right over there." He gestured at it with his chin. "I'm just glad we got that generator up and running again, or there'd be tons of 'em coming through those doors right now!"

In the kitchen-
Jerry, Keith, and Alvin all got to work moving the huge kitchen table to try to block off the exit. It was slow going, but they were managing. Roy came back inside as Lawrence Adler, Ron Moore, and Kate ran through the open doorway into the cafeteria, leaving Sharon and Miguel behind.

OOC,It will take another four minutes to finish barricading the exit. Only two of you are needed, so one of you could go do something else.

In the east hall, ground floor-
"Michelle!" cried Dr. Smith, kneeling next to her and opening up his black bag. "Why?"

"It's no use," she muttered weakly. "We're all dead anyway..."

"Don't you say that!" He applied pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding. "We're going to beat this! The fence is powered, and we've taken out the few that managed to get through it before the juice came back on. And the world will be saved too. Those scientists I rode in with, they're the best there is and they're working on the problem right now."

"No, it's too late...we're doomed..." She held tightly onto the pistol, but at least he was able to remove the bullet and sew up the wound very well.

Chuck and Tiny stood to the side, watching.

OOC,There's no need for a Sanity roll. She's very much alive - and conscious. As such, she isn't letting go of the gun. [b]Donald[/b], if you want to try to take it away by force, roll Grapple. The base skill is 25%. She will be have a chance to resist even if you succeed.

In the special projects lab-
"No, I had nothing to do with any of that, Father," said Ali. "I've been in here helping the scientists the whole time."

"Be careful with Kyle," said Heather. "He's, like, a total psycho!"

"No, it's not like that, you stuck-up bitch!" said Kyle. "It didn't happen like you think!"

Dr. Hausmann bandaged Kyle's head while Dr. Somerville kept working on his ribs.

"But you had those guns! You, like, totally tried to shoot people, you little creep!"

"No, I wasn't going to go through with it. There were only certain people I was mad at, people who deserved it. I wasn't going to hurt anyone else, and in the end I decided I wasn't going to hurt anyone. I was going to my locker to get the guns to help defend the school, but that bully Roy McCrumb followed me. I tried to get him to leave me alone, but you know what he's like. He threatened me with his baseball bat and forced me to open the locker. He was going to beat the crap out of me. I was defending myself when I shot at him."

"But you shot at Miguel too!" said Diana.

"Only after he shot me." Kyle indicated the graze wound from the 9mm bullet. "What was he doing with a gun, huh?"

"No, Roy McCrumb is a hero!" said Teresa. "Right, Kelly?"

Kelly shook her head. "No, he's not," she said, staring at her feet. "I used to think so, but he is a big bully. He hurts people."

"You can't undo sending a message," said Stephanie, typing faster than ever now, "but it's not going to make things any worse, and I think it's our only hope. You have no idea what we went through to get to this point. Actually using the EMP device, now that would have drastic consequences, and those are irreversible. We can protect the laptops and other small electronic equipment by using Faraday cages - wrapping them thoroughly in aluminum foil will prevent any pulse from affecting them. This huge thing would be fried, though." She glanced at the communications equipment before returning her full attention to the keyboard. "Eureka!" she cheered, her voice full of excitement. "I've got it, Brigetta! I've finally cracked the code!"

"Wunderbar!" exclaimed Dr. Hausmann. "I knew you could do it, Stephanie. Helene, go to the transmitter. We can handle Kyle."

Dr. Saunders nodded and rushed over to the communications gear.

OOC,Anyone in the lab may roll Psychology. The base skill is 5%.

On the roof-
"There are hundreds of them all around the school," said Megan. "Some of them are approaching the fence, and a few are even hitting it, but it's working and zapping them when they do. Whatever they did to fix the generator worked. It's the ones already inside that we have to worry about."

In the Kitchen:

Alvin continued to help barricade the door.

In the girls locker Room:

Darnell moved up behind LaTanya and kissed her on her neck while letting his hands move to her belly. "I want to feel my baby kick." he grinned.

Cafeteria

Becky sees Lawrence, Kate and Coach Moore entering from the kitchen followed by Roy. She brandishes her shotgun to indicate her readiness to fight monsters,

"They all dead in there? I mean... dead, dead?"

Roof

Julianne nods, and winks involuntarily, "Right. I'll warn the others about the gym... and see what else I can learn inside."

She runs back to the stairs and heads for the special projects lab.

Cafeteria

Roy enters from the kitchen and continues following his coach, eyes fixed on the back of the man's head, as if anxiously awaiting orders.

In the cafeteria-
"There aren't any more inside," said the principal, "and we took care of the ones outside. Coach cut one's head off with his saber, and the other guys are barricading the door as we speak."

"I'm more concerned about the gunshot inside," said Kate, hurrying for the hall. "Do you know what it's about?"

"We´d better get this corpse up to the lab. If they got through two doors in the auditorium and the kitchen, they might have breached all the doors on the ground floor. That would be ten entryways. The fastest way to block the intruders would be to block the stairwell doors. Emilio shouts through the corrdior, "Guys! I´m taking a dead-head to the labs. Move away from this floor, it´s too many holes in the walls!" To Declan he confirms, "Yeah, get three pipes for securing the doors temporarily. The third one we can use for the stairwell doors. If you can find a wedge used for propping doors, or even an axe, get that! That will be the best way to secure a door." Emilio knows the propping idea only works for doors opening inwards. That would mean the auditorium doors can be propped but not the stairwell doors.
He starts to move towards the stairwell doors to move up to the labs.

"If I am not needed, I'll see what else is happening." Keith wanders back toward the cafeteria.
He spots a tasty piece who he has not seen before, but she carrys herself like there is a poker up her ass.

Everything seems in order in the kitchin, time to investigate the gunshot behind her.
Rachel notices a gawky youth, pistol in hand, staring at her.

Emilio takes a deep breath and starts pulling the dead weight. He gets some ground between himself and the auditorium. "Come with me, when you´ve wedged the doors, Declan!"

******

"HEY! You guys, we´re backing up now!!!", he shouts as he pulls the corpse.

ooc,Yeah, I didn't look at the ooc, cuz I figured it was for Tiny or Chuck. Sorry about that. [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2083270/]Grapple check (25%) (1d100=85)[/url] Figures... girl's about dead and I'm too lame to even wrestle a gun out of her grip. Maybe I should just egg her on to giving it another attempt.

Donald went for the gun but couldn't seem to get it. Michelle apparently wanted to keep it. "I'm afraid I can't let you keep that gun, my dear. You've already put quite a mess on my walls and I can't have you going around repainting the rest of the hallways with what's left of your brain. Why don't you just hand me the gun. I'll hold onto it and keep it safe for the time being until you come back to terms with living."

Jerry is finishing the barricade.

OOC,Spoiler buttons labeled OOC like this one are for everyone to read. If a spoiler is private for one or more characters, I put the character name(s) in the button text, so that you know not to click that button unless one of those characters is yours.

In the girls' locker room-
LaTanya giggled. "You might have to wait a long time for that," she said. "I'm only about two months along. In the meantime, you should watch our backs. Don't want any creepy-crawlies sneaking up on us - or any looky-loos for that matter."

In the north hall, ground floor-
"I got wedges in the shop too," said Declan. "No axe, though, but if I had one I wouldn't waste it to block a door." He hurried into his shop classroom to retrieve the metal bars and wedges while Emilio dragged the corpse up the hall and into the stairwell, blood still oozing from its head wounds.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Emilio managed to haul the body into the stairwell. Luckily the lab was only one flight up.

OOC,You can reach the upper floor's landing while dragging the body this turn.

In the kitchen-
Jerry and Alvin kept working on the barricade. Sharon just kept crying. Miguel finally stirred as he came to his senses.

OOC,It will take 3 more minutes to finish the barricade.

In the cafeteria-
As Roy, Keith, and Rachel made their way through the cafeteria, they saw Kate, Coach Moore, and Principal Adler hurry through the double doors and into the hallway beyond.

In the east hall, ground floor-
Donald tried to grab the gun away from Michelle, but she rolled over, holding onto the gun and pinning it beneath her body. "No!" she cried.

"What happened?" asked Kate, bursting in with her Glock gripped in both hands. Ron Moore and Principal Adler were behind her.

"She tried to kill herself," said Dr. Bernard Smith, continuing to work on the wound and doing an admirable job. "Damn near succeeded too. Another inch over and..." He shook his head. "I just wish I'd picked up on what was wrong with her. Can't seem to talk any sense into her."

"I'll give it a try," said Adler.

On the roof-
"It's the auditorium, not the gym!" called Megan after Julianne's fleeting form.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Julianne ran down the stairs and reached the landing. The lab was just beyond the hallway door, to her left.

OOC,[b]Julianne[/b], you can reach the lab this turn.

In the special projects lab-
"I didn't even see that bullet wound," said Dr. Hausmann. She tried to stop the bleeding, but it persisted.

"Let me help," said Amelia. With the added pressure, she managed to stop the flow of blood.

"You're going to be fine," said Liz, continuing to work on Kyle's ribs.

"Quick, hook up the laptop!" said Stephanie eagerly. "I'm translating the message now."

Dr. Saunders nodded and worked fast, hooking up a USB cable between the laptop and the communications equipment. She checked the connections and nodded again. "We're five by five and ready to transmit," she said.

"Okay, got it!" Stephanie pressed some keys on the laptop with a triumphant smile. "There, it's done!" She exhaled and leaned back, relaxing for the first time in hours.

"Message sent!" said Dr. Saunders.

Erica applauded. "I know you could do it, Stephanie!" she said.

"So is the world saved now?" asked Diana.

"That was the first step," said Stephanie. "We've got a long road still ahead of us."

Emilio keeps dragging the corpse up the stairs.

To Rachel, "Hi, I'm Keith, you look well tooled up, heh heh. I mean you have a lot of weapons."
He spots Michelle, "Yuk, all this gunge is starting to turn my stomach. And, look!, she has a gun."

"My stomach is turning as well," replies Rachel cryptically.

She crouches down beside Michelle, "Dr Smith, will she live?"

Donald said to Dr. Smith, Kate, Ron, and Principal Adler, "She's suicidal. We can't allow her to keep a firearm in her possession... not in this state."

Darnell smiled and said, "I love watching your back baby. Your nice tight bottom umm umm umm."


Alvin continued to build the barricade.

"Ali," says Tariq to his son, "from now on we have to stay together. Things are going to be a lot more dangerous and confusing than you are used to. Like I always tell you, you cannot assume anything - these scientists may have done something great, or they might not have. But we have found each other, and that at least is something to be glad about."

Lori smiles to Tariqs son and to her friend Kyle.

OOC,Welcome back, Anatomist! I had wondered where you'd gone.

In the girls' locker room-
"Darnell Jones, you have a one track mind," said LaTanya. She took the cheerleader's uniform, went behind a row of lockers, and changed into it. She put her regular clothes in her locker and locked it up again. "Okay, all done."

In the north hall, ground floor-
Declan emerged from the shop with two metal bars and two wedges. He wedged each of the auditorium's double doors shut, then slid one of the bars through the handles of both doors.

In the kitchen-
Miguel hurried off into the cafeteria, resuming work on his pistol as he ran. He left Alvin and Jerry working on the barricade while Sharon sobbed.

OOC,It will take 2 more minutes to finish barricading the exit.

In the cafeteria-
Roy followed Keith, Becky, and Rachel out into the hall as Miguel came out of the kitchen.

In the east hall, ground floor-
"Yes, Rachel, she'll be fine," said Dr. Smith as he worked. "It looks worse than it is. Scalp wounds tend to bleed a lot."

"You've got that right," said Principal Adler to Donald. He sat next to Michelle and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Michelle, it's me, Larry," he said. "I know this has all been rough on you. It's been rough on all of us. But no matter what, you must not give up hope. We're going to win, do you hear me? Those scientists are going to save us, don't you doubt it for a second. You're not allowed to die. I need you here."

He only just got through to Michelle. She blinked, snapping out of her funk. "You're right, I...I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." She handed him the pistol. "Here, I don't want this any more anyway."

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Emilio dragged the body up the stairs. When he reached the landing, he saw Julianne vanish through the door into the hall. A moment later, Dr. Helene Saunders and Trooper Erica Spears entered from the same door.

On the roof-
Megan watched the fence nervously as another zombie struck it and fell twitching to the ground. "I hope it holds," she said. "I hope whatever they're doing downstairs works."

"It'll work," said Adam confidently.

In the special projects lab-
"Of course, Father," said Ali, hugging Tariq. "I will not leave your side."

"You believe me, don't you, Lori?" Kyle asked her.

"Now we need to tell the people on the roof that it's safe to use the EMP if they need to," said Stephanie.

"I'll go tell Adam Donnelly," said Dr. Saunders.

"Erica, go with her," said Stephanie. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine here. If any of them have gotten into the building, the pulse can take them out."

"Okay, let's go," said Erica. She and Dr. Saunders left the room. Julianne rushed in a moment later.

"But the data!" said Dr. Singh. "The pulse would wipe out the data!"

"Don't worry, Dr. Singh," said Stephanie. "A Faraday Cage will protect it, remember? Save your work, shut off the computer, and wrap it completely in foil just in case." She had already saved her work on her own laptop, powered it down, and disconnected it, and now she took the aluminum foil from its carrying case and was wrapping it up. "Do it just like this, and leave no gaps in the foil. Make sure the thumb drive is inside the foil too."

Dr. Singh rushed to comply, snatching the foil from the tray of sandwiches. In a minute, both computers were securely encased.

"Excellent work as always, Stephanie!" said Dr. Somerville while she continued to treat Kyle's bruised ribs.

"Thanks, Liz! Do you need any help?"

"Nein, we've got it, Stephanie," said Dr. Hausmann, assisting Liz. "We should only need a few more minutes. Take a break, you've earned it."

Spotting the women heading for the hallway on top of the landing, shouts, "Oy, where do you want this dead-head? Or... do you have a sample already?" Catching his breath Emilio continues, "There are a serious breach down there. Multiple entry points. We better get to a place we can defend easily. With the least number of access routes! The auditorium is wide open to the infected. Declan is about to wedge and bar the hallway doors to it. I don´t know what happens in the cafeteria.... I hope they come out on top of the problem over there."

On the north stairwell, upper floor-
"We'd better get up to the roof and activate the EMP device right away!" said Erica. "It's our only chance!"

Dr. Saunders nodded. "Take the body to the regular science lab," she said. "Down the hall and around the corner to the left. It's the second door. Lay the body on one of the lab tables. You can let the other scientists know it's there on the way."

Keith watches on, waiting for direction. Now the brief action is over his adrenaline fades and he feels slack and helpless.

"I'm pleased to hear that, Dr Smith," Rachel replies.

"Everyone, we should return to the lab. The north stairwell is the only way upstairs, I think, and can be defended easier. The ground floor has so many unsecure exits, zombies can be lurking anywhere!"

"Thanks!" Emilio gets in the hallway and heads towards the lab following the directions. If he spots any lab coats he fills them in on what he´s about to do. Ahead - left - second door - OK

Special Projects Lab



On her way into the lab, Julianne hears Emilio's confirmation about the auditorium doors. She spreads the news to Stephanie and the others,

"Two of the auditorium fire exits have been breached, but Declan is trying to wedge them shut... so I don't think there are any creatures in sight at the moment. I don't know how many may have gotten in. I'm going to see what's happening there and in the cafeteria. Do you have anything that I should tell the others?"

East hall



Becky turns to Rachel,

"I'll keep them things off the stairs, but not by myself."

East Hall



Roy swings his bat slowly to test his ribs. They feel stiff and slightly numb, but he suspects that he will barely be able to move in 24 hours.

"I'll go up if you think we should, Coach. But my bat ain't much use in a tight space."

In the kitchen

Alvin hummed solftly to himself as he helped to build the barricade.

In the girls locker room:

Darnell frowned, "Baby I saw you naked before when I made this baby thats in you so why can I not see your perfect body now? Are you teasing me cause you know I don't like that!" He walked toward LaTanya and hugged her tight with one arm. His other hand stroked her bottom and then came down in a hard smack. "Do you want more or are you going to obey me now?"

"Now that saving the world is done," says Tariq, almost succeeding in keeping every note of sarcasm out of his voice, "we have brought lunch from the cafeteria. Anyone who doesn't have something better to do should probably take the opportunity to eat while they can."

Jerry continues with the barricade.

"I'll go get a mop," said Donald to Principal Alder looking at the pistol in the man's hand ... and feeling a mite resentful that it wasn't in his own. But his job was to clean up, not to protect. So he nodded and started heading to the janitor's closet. That blood stain wasn't going to clean itself.

"Becky, I'm with you. Use that shotgun in an enclosed stairwell, the damage will be awesome," says Rachel with a hint of expectant pleasure, "nothing will pass by us!"
"You with us too?" she asks Keith Stewart, without enthusiasm.

"Uh, yeah, I s'pose so."

"About that - " says Tariq, "does anyone have a weapon to spare?"

Emilio looks out for other people as he covers more space to the labs. Hoping for friendlies, expecting hostiles... He stops. Takes a breather and listens.

When Tariq speaks, he also looks around the room to see who is armed and how.

Tariq notices that there is more firepower in the room than meets the eye.

OOC,By the way, [b]Tariq[/b] can't hear what [b]Rachel[/b] said. She's still downstairs.

In the girls' locker room-
LaTanya giggled. "It's partly to tease you," she admitted, "but it's also practical. You can't be watching our backs if you're watching my backside, Darnell. Think about it. We're all alone down here, with who knows what happening upstairs. Don't you know that in all the horror movies it's the black guy that gets it first?"

In the kitchen-
Sharon continued to weep while Alvin and Jerry worked on the barricade. They were nearly done now.

In the cafeteria-
Miguel followed the others into the hall.

In the east hall, ground floor-
Dr. Smith helped Michelle up. "Come on, let's all get upstairs," he said, walking her into the lobby with Officer Kate Wheeler's help.

Principal Larry Adler walked along with Donald after them. "Now's no time to worry about cleaning, Donald," he said. "We need to get everyone upstairs as fast as possible. It's not safe down here. There's still a crisis going on. When it's over, then you can mop up the blood and gore if you still want to.

"You'd be surprised what you can do with a bat, even in a tight space," said Coach Moore to Roy as they also went back to the lobby. "Right now, though, you need to get upstairs and get your injuries taken care of. Take a breather, you've earned it. Besides, you know that if you play on while you're injured, you're liable to make it worse. This doesn't have to be a season-ender. Let the docs and the nurses patch you up, and you won't be sidelined for as long."

"Let's go, Tiny," said Chuck. The dog growled as they brought up the rear.

In the lobby-
The group entered the lobby from the hall. Everything was just as it had been left.

"Mr. Lubachek," said the principal, "when we get upstairs we'll find an empty classroom where we can discuss the matter of your payment for repairing the generator."

"Sure," said Chuck, "only we'd better stop and get my mom from the lab first. She handles the business end of things."

In the north hall, ground floor-
Declan made sure that the auditorium doors were secured and then hurried into the stairwell.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Declan hustled in from the hall as fast as his old bones would let him.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Erica and Dr. Saunders raced upstairs.

In the north hall, upper floor-
As Emilio went by the open door to the special projects lab, he saw Stephanie talking to Julianne inside and let them know where he was taking the body. He then rounded the corner.

In the northeast hall, upper floor-
Emilio lugged the cadaver down the hall. The science lab's door was just ahead.

On the roof-
Erica and Dr. Saunders emerged from the stairwell.

"Erica, what's going on?" asked Megan.

"Is something wrong, Helene?" asked Adam.

"We've got multiple breaches downstairs!" said Erica.

Dr. Saunders nodded. "Stephanie said she finished her work and made the transmission. You can go ahead and use the EMP generator now."

"Okay, if you're sure," said Adam. He looked at Elijah and Michiko. "You two ready?"

In the special projects lab-
"Lori?" said Kyle, starting to cry when his friend didn't answer him right away. "Please tell me you believe me!"

"An autopsy?" said Dr. Singh, rubbing his hands. "This is what I've been itching for!"

"I'll assist you," said Stephanie. Both of them picked up their laptops. She spoke to Julianne as she went out into the hall with her and the others. "Tell them that we've finished our work, and that if the lights go out again, they shouldn't worry. That'll be the EMP going off, and that should put all the dead down for keeps for miles around."

"Don't you two ever stop working?" asked Liz.

"I'll come along too," said Chester Johnson. "I'm curious to see what makes these things tick."

"Hey, wait for me!" said Diana, tagging along, carrying her baseball bat loosely in one hand.

Once they were out in the hall, Julianne split off and entered the stairwell.

"We have a few weapons, but none to spare," said Dr. Hausmann. She held her Beretta in her one good hand.

"Don't suppose you're any good with a submachine gun?" said Lucy to Tariq. She had a Grease gun slung over her shoulder and carried a steel pipe in her hand. "To be honest, I don't really know how to use this thing. A shotgun, now that I'm good with."

Emily Lubachek had a .38 revolver in one hand, and a large axe in the other.

Tariq al-Tikriti,[b]Tariq[/b] already knew that [b]Amelia[/b] had her meat cleaver, and [b]Lori[/b] had a switchblade and a steak knife. He also noticed as [b]Stephanie[/b] left that there was a very obvious pistol-shaped bulge in one of the pockets of her lab coat.

Emilio drags the corpse the few feet to the lab door and kicks the door open with his heel. "Delivery, guys!" He is about to rear side in to the lab...

"Right: the North Stairwell is where I want to be," says Rachel striding to the lobby.

Keith is looking like a rabbit on a busy road. He follows Rachel.

-Ay! I mean, yes sir!- Says Michiko.

Donald looked doubtfully toward Principal Larry Adler and asked, "Are you sure? The sight of blood makes some folks weak in the knees, I figured that's the last thing we need to worry about." He shrugged, "If you're sure, then I'll put it off for now... but that blood will be harder to clean up after it dries. May have to put in some overtime."

Donald started pushing his wheelbarrel back toward the stairwell heading up, and he asked over his shoulder, "Don't suppose you've seen anyone with my chainsaw? I was going to use it if things got ugly. Someone snatched it out of my wheelbarrel, now I got nothing to defend myself with."

"I do have experience with semiautomatics," Tariq replies to Lucy, "if you lend me the Grease gun I'll put it to good use, and remember you if I see a shotgun. Those I don't know much about."

If Lucy offers the weapon to him,he will take it now.

Then he turns to Kyle.
"Kyle," he says, "today I saw you take some real initiative, and those explosives you put together were not sloppy, either. I don't know most of what happened, but perhaps you and Lori could catch me up."

"Chainsaw!" says Keith with a start. Smirking he replies to Donald, "I'm unsure, don't get mad, but Jerry took it."

In the special projects lab-
"It's not a semiautomatic," said Lucy. "That's what I thought too at first, but it turns out it's full auto only. Not easy to handle if you don't already know how. It's really Erica's gun, so I don't know if I should give it away - plus I don't want to be without a gun myself. But if you can find me a shotgun - or a rifle, I'm good with that too - and Erica says it's okay, we can trade."

"Thanks," said Kyle to Tariq. "I guess you didn't hear when I told Lori." He gave his story again.

OOC,[b]Tariq[/b] was present when [b]Kyle[/b] explained his side of what happened to both him and [b]Lori[/b] (see the update before last). If you want to try to convince [b]Lucy[/b] to part with the Grease gun now, roll Persuade. The base skill is 15%.

In the northeast hall, upper floor-
When Emilio kicked open the door, he saw that the lab was empty.

Alvin paused to wipe some sweat off his brow and then continued to hum as he built the barricade.


Darryl said, "Well yeah the black guy gets it first but also the non virgin so I guess we are both screwed huh? Anyway eventually Kyle is going to wake up and come looking for vengence and I would rather be someplace where I can get the drop on that motherfucker. Down here is perfect unless you would rather be someplace else?"

Donald shook his head in response to Kieth, "Won't be mad long as I get it back in one piece. Somethin' happens to it, it comes out of my check." Donald doubted the school would be so petty as to charge him for destroyed equipment what with all the mayhem going on, but if it served to get his chainsaw back in one piece ... so much the better. He started considering other objects he might be able to use as weapons within the school, anything he might be able to grab on his way up to the upper floors.

He sighs and drags the corpse up to an examination slab and drags the deceased on to it. Hesitantly Emilio looks something to cover it with. It is rather ghastly. Then he pulls a pen from his utility belt and writes on a piece of paper - Sample as requested! Then he sticks the pen through the note, the sheet and the mid section of the corpse. "Hey, someone here?" he shouts and starts for the door to the corridor.

"I heard that," Tariq replies, "but you didn't mention who you were angry at, or why. If you don't want to tell me, I won't bother you."

He turns away, hoping that his feigned disinterest will cause Kyle to explain, and says persuasivelyto Lucy, "I've handled similar submachine guns before. If you don't have any experience, using it would waste a lot of ammuntion. I'll keep my eyes open for shotguns or rifles - I think Kyle had one earlier and lost it - but we will all survive better if we stick to the weapons we know."

[spoiler-button],OOC: How much ammunition does the Grease gun have?[/spoiler-button]

On the roof-
"I'm ready too," said Elijah eagerly.

"All right, then," said Adam. "Let's fire up the EMP!" He opened up a safety panel, revealing a big red button, and pressed it with the palm of his hand.

Megan stared wide-eyed as every zombie within sight suddenly collapsed on the spot and lay motionless on the ground. "It worked!" she exulted. At the same instant, all of the lights visible in nearby buildings also went out. The EMP did indeed appear to have worked, but it had come at a cost.

"Sweet!" cheered Erica. "I'm going back down to tell Steph the good news."

Dr. Saunders nodded. "We'll need to make sure this device remains operational at all times," she said. "If it fails, it will stop sending out the pulse. The dead that it has disrupted will probably stay down if it does, but any new corpses that moved into the area of effect would remain standing. I'll take a shift monitoring it now, Adam. You've done enough work, and you've done it well. You've earned a break."

"Thanks, Doc," said Adam. He tagged along with Erica. "I'd like to go see Stephanie too. Haven't really had a chance to talk to her. She's the one who really saved us. I may have built the machine, but it was her idea." He glanced back at Elijah and Michiko. "You kids coming?"

"Sure," said Elijah. He joined the others heading downstairs, and Megan went too.

In the girls' locker room-
"Well, when you put it that way," said LaTanya. She leaned against Darnell and kissed him.

At that moment, the lights went out, plunging the two of them into complete darkness. LaTanya broke off. "Not again!" she cried. "Now what?"

In the kitchen-
Jerry and Alvin finally finished barricading the kitchen exit. As they put the last touches on the blockade, the lights went out, but they could still see thanks to sunlight streaming in through the windows. Sharon whimpered in despair.

In the east hall, ground floor-
Miguel continued trying to clear his jammed pistol as he followed the main group into the lobby.

In the lobby-
The big group made its way north down the hall leading to the stairs as Miguel entered from the east, hurrying in an effort to catch up. Then the overhead lights went out again.

In the north hall, ground floor-
"Not to worry, Donald," said Principal Adler. "Once we get everyone upstairs, nobody's going back down until the danger is over."

Kate nodded to herself when she saw the barred and wedged double doors to the auditorium. "That looks secure for now," she said.

"Keep moving," said Dr. Smith. "The stairs are just ahead."

Then the fluorescent ceiling lights went out. There were no windows in the hall, but enough light came from the lobby windows to enable everyone to see.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Declan started heading upstairs and got halfway to the upper landing when the power failed. "Dammit, not again!" he shouted, returning to ground level. Julianne caught up with him there.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Julianne vanished from sight on her way downstairs before Adam led the way down from the roof.

In the north hall, upper floor-
Stephanie, Dr. Singh, Chester, and Diana rounded the corner to the east.

In the northeast hall, upper floor-
As the scientists neared the door to the science lab, the power went out, leaving the hall in darkness. Faint light came through the open door up ahead, allowing them to see.

"Was that the EMP going off?" asked Diana.

"Yup," said Stephanie. "It's a good thing we wrapped up our laptops."

"You're telling me," said Dr. Singh.

"We're on our way!" called Chester in response to Emilio's shout.

In the science lab-
Emilio entered the lab and laid the corpse out on a long table. He was heading for the exit when the power cut out, though sunlight coming through the lab's windows enabled him to see well enough.

In the special projects lab-
"Well, I guess it's okay if you borrow it for now," said Lucy, "but you'll have to give it back to Erica when she asks for it." She handed Tariq the Grease gun, which was fully loaded, and an additional 8 full 30-round magazines for it.

"Mostly I'm mad at the jocks," said Kyle as the doctors continued patching him up. They were nearly done. "They're always picking on me and beating me up, especially Roy McCrumb. I don't like Darnell either. He stole my girlfriend. I wasn't angry at LaTanya though. I love her. I'd never have hurt her. It was Darnell that caused her injury. He smacked her leg with his baseball bat. And Heather. She's such a stuck-up, prissy bitch who never missed a chance to humiliate me."

"What?!" gasped Heather. "You were, like, going to kill me?! You total psycho!"

"I wasn't actually going to do it."

Heather glared at him. "You stupid asshole! You're, like, so totally screwed now! I'm gonna laugh when they lock you away forever!"

"Shut up!" Kyle glanced helplessly at Lori. "See what I mean? I...I was also angry at the principal. He's a real stickler, and he would discipline me severely when I got in trouble, but the jocks never have to answer for what they do. They can get away with anything!"

"That's true," said Kelly.

At that point, the lights went out and the communications console went dead. There was still enough light to see coming in through the windows.

-Yes! And Michiko follow the group

By kabukiman

-The lights went down? Lucky we finish the barricad before those creature can pass the fance now!-Says Jerry
-Come Mrs Sharon, everything will turn ok. You will see, we are perfectly safe now, and in a couple of hours someone will come to rescue us. They just need to clean the city, and that takes a while.

In the girls locker room:
Darnell grabbed on to LaTanya's hand and said, "maybe we better get to some light. See whats going on. Follow me baby." He made his way to the door and the hallway toward the gym steps.

In the kitchen:

Alvin smiled at the barricade. He then said, "Maybe before we go upstairs we should do a sweep down here and in the basement to make sure everyone is clear from Charlie. What do you think?"

-Good idea. It doesn't hurt being cautious. Come Mrs Sharon.

"For the love of Pete," Donald said as the lights went out. "I hope that's not the generator failing again."

idea check for make-shift weapons,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2147338/]Idea (70%) (1d100=19)[/url]

Rachel says to herself, "Perhaps I'll climb up a flight of steps, that way I can cover up and down at once, hmmm."

OOC/Mr Handy,Do the stairs zig-zag, two flights to reach a floor?

"Donald, what if Alvin don't give the chainsaw back?"

OOC,[b]Darnell[/b], roll Navigate to find your way out in the dark. The base skill is 10%. If you fail, [b]LaTanya[/b] will also get a chance. [b]Sharon[/b] still isn't responding, but [b]Jerry[/b] and [b]Alvin[/b] are strong enough to pull her along with them without having to roll anything. It is [b]Jerry[/b] who has the chainsaw, not [b]Alvin[/b]. Yes, the stairs do zigzag like that. [b]Rachel[/b] can go halfway up to the upstairs landing and cover both from there when she arrives, but she'll only get to the ground floor landing this turn.

Donald Woodridge,[b]Donald[/b] recalled that the door to [b]Declan[/b]'s shop class was to the right. There were all sorts of tools in there that could make useful weapons.

Donald responded plainly, "Then Alvin owes me a hundred dollars. Chainsaws don't grow on trees." He turned down the hallway heading toward the shop class taking his wheelbarrel with him.

Imp,Alvin does not have the chainsaw. Read Mr. Handy's post above.

Alvin grabbed Sharon's hand and walked out the kitchen door to the cafateria making sure it was clear.


in the girls locker room:

Darnell tried to find his way in the dark but he was unable to do so. He said, "Baby can you get us out of here I am lost."

OOC,Keith is an idiot! Tabs (Keith's interpreter) did muddle Jerry and Alvin, however it is just the sort of dumbass prank Keith would make up, so Tabs did not edit the comment. BTW Keith did take the chainsaw, and then gave it to Jerry. :P

Keith smirks.

After the lights go out, Tariq waits a moment for it to sink in.

"You see that?" he says quietly to the students.

"That is a new world beginning. It might only last a few months, or the rest of our lives, but it puts everything else in the past. Something tells me that in the new world, force will be the answer to a lot of problems. Kyle, you chose what would normally be a really stupid way to fight back, but you chose to fight, and it looks like it might turn out for the best. Heather, I don't really care about what happened between you and Kyle, but if you don't want to forget your differences, you should stay away from him, because the odds are that very few people are going to be locked up from now on. Both of you should think about what you want to do with your lives next, and I don't mean guidance-counselor style, I mean think fast."

Then he turns to the scientists in the room.

"Well, what are you thinking we should do now?"

In the girls' locker room-
LaTanya stumbled around in the darkness, but she had no luck either. Feeling in front of her with her free hand, she found a wall where she thought the exit should be. "Honey, I'm just as lost as you are," she said.

OOC,[b]Darnell[/b], roll Idea.

In the cafeteria-
Alvin and Jerry dragged Sharon Kaplan out of the kitchen and over the shattered barricade, with Murray padding along after them. As they made their way through the deserted cafeteria, she came to her senses and was able to walk on her own. "I'm sorry, guys," she said with a final sniff. "I completely lost it back there. I should have been helping you."

In the workshop-
Donald searched through the workshop to see what he could find. There were a couple of hammers, a few screwdrivers, and also a coil of exposed wire. If that could be hooked up to a power source, it would make a very effective weapon against the dead, much as the electric fence had been. Tripwires could be set up across doorways to zap them, as they were far too stupid to step over them. The only problem was that power would be hard to come by with the generator off. There were some dry cell batteries in the workshop, but there was a limit to how long they would last.

OOC,The hammers count as Small Clubs, with a base skill of 25%. There are two of them. The screwdrivers count as Small Knives, and there are three of them. Knife skill also has a base of 25%. The wire, if it's live, causes 1d8 damage to a human and also stuns him or her. Judging by the effects of the electric fence, it would take out a zombie automatically. An Electrical Repair roll is required to set up a tripwire, but until and unless power is restored to the generator, each one will require a separate battery. There are only four batteries. Roll Spot Hidden if you want to search for additional tools that could be useful as weapons. This will use up your action for the round whether you succeed or not.

In the north hall, ground floor-
Kate Wheeler and Principal Adler led the way down the hall and into the stairwell. Everyone else in the hall followed them. Miguel entered the hall from the lobby, rushing after them. His gun was still jammed, but he almost had it cleared.

On the roof-
Dr. Helene Saunders took a good look around from her vantage point. What she could see of the city was in very sorry shape, but to her relief every zombie lay still on the ground in all directions. "Those bodies will start to stink and fester soon," she said to herself. "Best to burn them all, but that's a lot of work. So is rebuilding the world and restoring civilization, but we've taken the first and most important step." She sat down next to the humming EMP device, checking its leads and making sure it was functioning normally.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
"I'll go downstairs and let whoever's still down there know it's over," said Megan, already descending. "You guys go tell Stephanie and the others."

"Will do," said Erica. "You kids can follow me or go with her." She opened the door to the hall and stepped through with Adam.

"I'll stick with you," said Elijah, tagging along with Erica and Adam. "I can't wait to meet the lady who saved the world! You coming, Michiko?"

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Declan ran down the stairs into the basement, taking out his flashlight to light his way in the pitch black. Julianne headed halfway up the flight of stairs to the landing in the middle, where she met Megan on her way down while the group from the hall filed into the stairwell. "We did it!" shouted Megan excitedly, hugging her fellow teacher. She called down to the others. "The transmission has been sent, and the EMP device worked! They're all down! It was amazing! As soon as Adam Donnelly activated the EMP they fell, like puppets with their strings cut!"

Lawrence Adler breathed a huge sigh of relief. "That's wonderful news, Miss Petrovich!" said the principal. He smiled at the people with him. "We can relax a little now, but there's a long road ahead of us. Someone go back and tell Donald it's safe to start cleaning if he really wants to, but he's more than earned a break. I know a lot of you have families and loved ones out there. If you want to leave, you're welcome to do so. Use any of the fire exits to go outside, like the one right here. There are enough holes in the fence now to get through, and with the power out it should be fine. If you want to stay, you're welcome to do so. We'll be having dinner once we can get things back in some semblance of order."

In the basement-
Declan reached the bottom of the stairs, not having heard the news being circulated above.

In the north hall, upper floor-
Erica, Adam, and Elijah entered the hall and headed over to the door to the special projects lab.

In the special projects lab-
"Like I care what some loser psycho like Kyle thinks about me," said Heather. "I just don't want him to totally kill me or stuff."

Adam and Erica poked their heads in the door, Elijah standing behind them. "It worked like a charm!" said Adam. "You should have seen it! Right when I activated the EMP, all of the dead just collapsed!" A cheer rang out throughout the lab.

"Where's Stephanie?" asked Erica. "We wanted to tell her the good news - and congratulate her!"

"She went to the science classroom to help Dr. Singh with an autopsy on one of the corpses," said Dr. Hausmann.

"Chester Johnson and Diana went with him," added Dr. Liz Somerville. The two doctors finished treating Kyle's injuries. "There, you're all set now. Brigetta, why don't we go over to the lab ourselves?"

"Ja, good idea." Dr. Hausmann gathered her medical supplies with help from Liz.

"You guys go ahead, we'll catch up."

"With the juice out, a lot of perishable food is gonna go bad," said Amelia. "I can't eat it all myself, so I'm going to need some help from all y'all. I'd best get on down to the kitchen and make us some dinner." She headed out the door to the hall and into the stairwell. "Tariq, you done plenty already. Don't feel you need to help me in the kitchen."

"Can we go home now?" Ali asked his father. "I want to make sure Mom's okay."

In the science lab-
Stephanie, Dr. Singh, Chester Johnson, and Diana Forester entered the lab and met Emilio. "Oh, good, here it is!" said Dr. Singh, rushing over to the table where the corpse was laid out.

"Thank you," Stephanie told him before going over to join him. "Don't worry about the lights going out. That was the EMP, and it worked! All the dead are dead - for good. Not all over the world, at least not yet, but all of them within a few miles."

OOC: Jerry doesn't know about the EMP, right?

Jerry:
-Do not worry Miss Kaplan, not everyone reacts well to stressfull situations. And I bet that you always prefered romantic comedies to horror movies- says Jerry as a joke.

Michiko:
-Yes, Elija, I'm coming with you. Whoever create this situation will be very surprised if they thought that humankind was already defeated!

"I hope you´re right about that... There are evidence on the lower floors of several dead having gained access. Are you sure the EMP affected the school´s interior?" He looks at Stephanie and adds, "I´ll better head down again and brief the others. And check the exits if you´re correct. Then I might head over to the fences and make sure they´re intact." Emilio prepares to leave the science lab and hurry back down the stairwell.

"Before we go home, Ali, we have to find the safest and best way to get there. Even if the EMP worked, we don't know that the entire city is safe."

OOC,That's right, [b]Jerry[/b] doesn't know about the EMP yet.

In the special projects lab-
"I've got my bike out in front of the school, Father," said Ali. "If you can't find one of your own or get a ride, I can always pedal slowly so you can keep up."

"I'll go with you, Erica," said Lucy. She left the lab. "I hope you don't mind that I let Tariq borrow your Grease gun. Unlike me, he actually knows how to use it."

"That's fine," said Erica. She nodded to Tariq before heading off. "Just make sure you give it back when I ask for it."

In the science lab-
"Yes, I'm sure," Stephanie told Emilio before he left. "Walls won't stop an EMP. Only shielding capable of stopping electromagnetic radiation can keep its effects out. That means lead, very thick concrete, perhaps the ground, and aluminum foil. Even the slightest gap, and the pulse will get through."

Michiko

-Is the effect of the EMP permanent? Should't we tell to the others to destroy as soon as possible the deads who entered the school? So if the aliens find some way to reanimate them, they would't be able to return to non life.

"That sounds good," says Tariq to his son.

"We'll try to run down and get your mother. If we are attacked by anything, you can use the bicycle to get away while I deal with it," he points to the Grease gun, "and then come back when the dust clears. Go get your bike now and I'll meet you in front of the school."

As soon as Ali runs out for his bike, Tariq turns to adress everyone in the room.

"I'm heading to my house a few blocks away, where I have useful supplies, including more guns and ammo. If anyone wants to come with me I wouldn't mind the help. My wife is at home, and I don't know if she is alright, so I would appreciate someone with medical experience. Either way, I'm leaving now as fast as I can."

he then runs out of the room after Ali, headed for the front of the school.

Alvin said, "Good Miss now that your ok we need to clear the basement of Charlie. Follow me!" He began walking for the doors.


In the girls Locker Room:

Darnell tried to think of something but the smell of LaTanya mingled with the smell of many girls perfumes made him horney and he sat down on a bench overwhelmed.

Spot Hidden in the crafts room,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2166753/]Spot Hidden (25%) (1d100=83)[/url] - fail

Donald was tossing the hammers, screwdrivers, wire and batteries into the wheelbarrel, then looked around for anything else that might be useful. Failing that, he thought about some adhesive that might be necessary, so he started looking around for duct tape.

In the stairwell-
Rachel comments, "The lights went off, so the EMP has worked! Time to get back to the lab." She heads upstairs, taking two steps at a time.

Keith watches Rachel leave, "Huh, prissy bitch!" he whispers. His stomach feels hollow and begins to rumble, "I'm going back to the kitchen," he shouts after Rachel; but she doesn't reply.

In the girls' locker room-
LaTanya had a sudden burst of inspiration and pulled Darnell to his feet. "Darnell, get your ass offa that bench!" she said. "There's a wall here, so all we gotta do is follow along it and we'll find the exit!" She took his hand and felt her way along the wall. Soon the two of them found their way back into the hall outside the locker rooms, which was equally dark.

In the locker room hall-
LaTanya and Darnell emerged from the locker room into the hall outside. "Okay," said LaTanya. "We know we can get upstairs the way we came, around the corner to the right. That leads back up to the gym. The problem is that we don't know what's going on up there. If we go left from here, we can cut through the pool area and reach the main stairs. The generator is also that way."

In the north stairwell, basement-
Declan tried to light his flashlight, but nothing happened. "Dammit," he muttered. "Guess I'll have to work blind." He returned the useless flashlight to his toolbox and shoved his way through the door and into the darkened hallway.

In the basement hall-
Declan couldn't see a thing, so he felt his way along the west wall, knowing that the door to the generator room would be the first one.

In the cafeteria-
"Actually, my favorite movie is 'Wall Street,'" said Sharon Kaplan, still a little bewildered. "Come on, let's go see if there's anyone else around down here." She went with Jerry, Alvin, and Murray through the double doors leading to the east hall.

In the east hall, ground floor-
Jerry, Alvin, Murray, and Sharon emerged from the cafeteria and into the hall. The corpse of Jacob Marley lay in the pool of blood where it had fallen, but the hall was otherwise empty. To the right, it went back to the lobby. To the left, it led to the east stairwell. It was barricaded, so there was no way to get upstairs through it.

In the workshop-
Donald did find a roll of duct tape and added it to the contents of the wheelbarrow. After a careful search, he was satisfied that he had found everything of use in the workshop.

In the north hall, ground floor-
Keith emerged from the stairs on his way to the kitchen, passing Miguel as he at last finished clearing his jammed pistol. "I heard the good news," said Miguel. "I'm going to go look around upstairs. I'll catch up with you later. Hey, as long as you're going to the kitchen, can you snag me some grub?" He headed through the door into the stairwell.

"I'll go find Donald," said Megan as she emerged from the stairs and into the hall.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Lawrence Adler, Kate Wheeler, Chuck Lubachek, and Tiny went upstairs with Rachel. Amelia went by them on her way down.

"Roy, why don't you lie down here so the doc and nurse can finish looking at you," said Coach Moore. "You shouldn't be climbing stairs in your condition if you don't have to."

Roy nodded and rested on the landing while Michelle tried to treat his fractured ribs, but she only caused him more pain. Dr. Smith quickly stepped in and undid the damage.

In the special projects lab-
"I'll go with you," said Kyle. He rose and, with Ali, followed Tariq out into the hall.

"Me too," said Lori, following close behind.

Dr. Hausmann and Dr. Somerville also left the lab.

In the north hall, upper floor-
"We'll need to use the north stairs to go down," Ali said to Tariq, Lori, and Kyle. "The other stairways are barricaded. We could use a fire escape, but that'll take longer." He led the way into the stairwell. Dr. Hausmann and Dr. Somerville went the other way, where they met Emilio at the intersection of the hallways. Erica, Lucy, Elijah, and Adam rounded the corner ahead of them into the northeast hall.

In the northeast hall, upper floor-
"It should be permanent unless something reanimates them," said Adam. "Even if that happens, which it shouldn't thanks to the signal we transmitted, I've got the EMP device set to generate a continuous pulse, so they'd be knocked right back down again as long as it stays in working order. It uses vacuum tubes and other older, sturdier technology to prevent it from frying itself. But you're right, the bodies do need to be burned. It's unsanitary to have them lying around. I just hope there are enough people still alive in the city to handle all that."

"It's going to be hard to adjust to not having electricity," said Elijah. "It's going to get cold and dark at night. We'll need to light fires, and use candles and torches."

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Ali, Kyle, Lori, and Tariq entered from the hall as the principal, Rachel, Chuck, Tiny, and Kate Wheeler came up from downstairs.

"Where are you taking him?" asked Kate, looking at Kyle.

On the roof-
Dr. Saunders continued to monitor the EMP device.

In the science lab-
"Well, let's get to work," said Dr. Singh. He pulled back the sheet and began inspecting the body, lifting the dead woman's limbs and letting them fall. "Yes, she's clearly been dead for hours."

"I got that just from the smell," said Stephanie, wrinkling her nose. "Rigor mortis has clearly set in too."

Chester Johnson joined them and assisted them admirably.

"This is so cool," said Diana, though the adults' work was somewhat over her head. Still, she was always eager to learn.

Keith says, "No probs. Miguel, I'll see what I can rustle up." He jogs toward the Lobby.

Rachel asks, "A problem with the boy, Kate?", indicating Kyle and looking questioningly at Ali, Tariq and Lori.

Donald considered where else he could gain some weapons. He knew he could probably get some broom handles out of some of his closets, and he knew that the science lab might have some acid that could be put into bottles and used as grenades. So he started heading back into the hallway to continue his weapons search.

Handy: Meeting the two doctors, Emilio waves to where he came from and says, "The sample is over there... Are you two all right?" Things start to wind down to a more normal state for Emilio, walking the corridors. Task at hand. No more monsters to bash. Only things to fix. I´ll let the army do the killing and the doctors the mending. I´ll stick to repairing stuff.
After the run in with the doctors, he´ll continue down, hopefully to connect with Declan.

Handy:

Locker Room Hall:
Darnell said, "Baby lets go left. Follow me. Hold onto my hand or other parts of my body."


East Hall, Ground Floor:
Alan said, "I guess right is the only way we can go. Lets go find our missing men that Charlie captured"

Handy:

Tariq does not slow down, but does talk to the principal, Rachel, Chuck, Tiny, and Kate Wheeler.

"I am heading to my house nearby, where I have supplies and guns. I need to know if my wife is oka. If any of you want to come along, I would appreciate the help and I have some spare firearms I could lend. Ali, my son, is coming with me. I did not talk to them about it yet, but I think these students decided to accompany me. It is their own decision."

On the north stairwell, upper floor-
"Former student, actually," said Lori.

"You can go with him and his son," said Kate. "I can't go with; I have too many things to take care of right here. But Kyle here is in custody. I can't allow you to take him with you. He needs to be locked up in one of the detention cells in the security office."

This makes Tariq stop.

"Why is Kyle in custody? What legal authority has arrested him? I found him knocked unconscious and left helpless by his peers, and brought him to medical aid."

In the basement hall-
Declan paused outside the door to the generator room as he heard movement from the swimming pool area. He turned around and went through the door to the pool instead.

In the locker room hall-
"Darnell, don't you ever think of anything else?" asked LaTanya. Taking his hand, she felt her way along the north wall until they reached the door to the pool area and went through.

In the pool area-
Darnell and LaTanya made their way north of the pool as Declan entered from the west side. "Who's there?" he called.

"Declan, it's just me and Darnell!" shouted LaTanya.

"What are you two kids doing down here? Never mind, I've got a pretty good idea. Come on over and I'll lead you out of here."

OOC,[b]Darnell[/b], roll Luck.

In the east hall, ground floor-
Murray, Jerry, and Sharon followed Alvin into the lobby.

In the north hall, ground floor-
Donald emerged from the workshop to see Megan Petrovich walking down the hall to the lobby. She glanced back as she went by. "Donald, the EMP worked!" she said. "Once it went off, all of the zombies just fell down and stayed that way. The principal said it's safe to clean up now if you really want to, but you've earned a break and can feel free to take one." She continued into the lobby with Keith. Amelia entered from the stairwell.

In the lobby-
Alvin and the others entered the lobby from the east, and Megan and Keith entered from the north. She told them the same news she had given Donald. "Is there anyone else down here?" she asked.

The front entrance was still barricaded. The door to the security office was wide open, but the door to the janitor's supply closet was closed and locked. Jerry had the keys, as did Donald. The hall continued to the west on the other side of the lobby, leading to the nurse's and principal's office, as well as the west stairwell (which was also barricaded). The hall also branched off to the north.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
"This legal authority," said Kate, tapping her badge with her free hand. "I didn't abandon him; I had to go deal with a breach in the kitchen to make sure that we didn't all end up dead. Thank you for finding him and getting him treatment. As to when he was arrested, I'm doing that right now. Kyle Rogers, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Roy McCrumb and Miguel Garcia, as well as unlawful possession of firearms, and other charges are sure to follow. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you by the courts. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?"

"Yeah, but it was self-defense!" protested Kyle.

"You don't have to say anything," said Lori. "Officer, I know you're busy. Can't you leave him with us? We'll make sure he doesn't run off."

Kate nodded. "You're right, I don't have time to deal with him at the moment. Thanks. You and Tariq can take him down to the detention cells and lock him up. Jerry has the keys. Rachel, I need a word with you in the lab. Let's go." Without waiting for a reply, she went through the door to the hall with Rachel. Chuck and Tiny went with Principal Adler into the hall after that, and Emilio entered the stairwell from that direction.

"Come on," said Lori. She went downstairs with Kyle, Tariq, and Ali. Miguel arrived from below.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Amelia went through the door and into the hall.

Miguel went upstairs, and Tariq, Ali, Lori, and Kyle arrived from above.

"You!" growled Roy as he lay on the floor, glaring at Kyle.

"Relax, he's in custody," said Lori, holding Kyle's arm.

"Relaxing is very good advice," said Dr. Smith, bandaging Roy's ribs and easing his pain a little. Michelle, however, was still distracted and reopened an old wound when she tried to help. "Dammit! I'm just useless."

"Don't say that," said Ron Moore. "Just take a breather, sit on the bench, and then get back up and out there." He tried to stop the fresh bleeding without success, but Becky managed it.

On the roof-
Dr. Saunders maintained her vigil.

In the north hall, upper floor-
"Hey, ma!" called Chuck. "Come over here! We need to give the principal our bill!" Emily emerged from the lab and joined her son.

Kate and Rachel turned left and went into the special projects lab, while Principal Adler, Chuck, Emily, and Tiny went through the door on the right into the empty science classroom. Dr. Hausmann and Dr. Somerville rounded the corner to the left, heading for the science lab.

In the northeast hall, upper floor-
Erica, Lucy, Adam, and Elijah entered the science lab where the autopsy was underway. Michiko was close behind. Looking back, she saw the two female doctors coming.

In the science lab-
"Hey, Steph, you did it!" called Erica as she entered.

"Oh, hi, Erica!" said Stephanie, looking up from the corpse.

"It was amazing! You should have seen it. As soon as Adam pushed the button, the dead fell over - for good. You saved us all!" Erica ran over and hugged her, singing. "For she's a jolly good fellow, for she's a jolly good fellow, for she's a jolly good fellow-"

"Which nobody can deny!" added Adam. "I knew you could do it, Stephanie! Mind if I cut in, Erica?" She stepped aside, and he gave Stephanie a big hug too, patting her on the back.

"Ooh!" said Stephanie, surprised and blushing. "Oh, you guys! I didn't do this all myself, you know. Adam, you're the one who built the device."

"To your specifications, and at your suggestion. And anyway, I did it wrong. It was these two brilliant students who caught my mistake and fixed it." He indicated Elijah and Michiko.

Lucy grinned. "I didn't do all that much," she said, "but I'm glad I was along for the ride. You rock, Stephanie!"

Diana nodded. "I'm going to be a scientist too when I get older," she said, "and thanks to you, I will!"

"People, let's not jump to conclusions," said Dr. Singh. "We don't know whether the transmission had any effect."

"Aw, don't rain on the lady's parade," said Adam. "Are you always like this?"

"Humph!"

"Well, you certainly made the right career choice," Chester said to Diana, "and you've got a fine role model right here." He smiled at Stephanie.

In the special projects lab-
After Emily left, Kate and Rachel entered. Kate closed the door and lowered her voice. "The immediate crisis has passed," said Kate when she was sure the Lubacheks were out of earshot, "but we still have problems that need sorting out. One of those problems is Chuck Lubachek. He's a suspect in a murder, and we've got an eyewitness who saw him do it."

"Like, who'd he kill?" asked Heather.

"A man named Jacob Marley." Kate looked sadly at Doug and Lisa. "I'm sorry about your uncle. Rest assured that his killer will not escape justice."

"Damn right he won't!" said Doug furiously. "I and I am gonna tear him a new one!"

"Shh! Jacob was the first zombie to break into the school. He had been buried in the concrete foundation of the expansion being built for the school, and I believe ballistics tests will show that the bullets that originally killed him - probably a couple of nights ago - will match one of Lubachek's guns. I'm about to arrest him, but I'm going to need some backup. Rachel, I know this isn't really part of your job directly, but I'd appreciate it if you came with me. Right now, he is the greatest danger in this building. The principal has him in the science classroom across the hall, on the pretext of negotiating his payment for helping to repair the generator. We'll go right across and make the arrest."

"You can count on me," said Doug.

"Now, he does have a shotgun, a pistol, and a ferocious dog, and his mother is armed too. He may resist arrest-"

"I hope he does," said Doug, rubbing his hands.

Michiko
-Thank you, I only made what it was asked me. And it was a brilliant insight of yours that alowed all this to happen.

Jerry
-So the situation is solved? Wow, we were lucky then. I wonder how the people in the city survived...

Tariq continues on, glad that Kyle and Lori are taking care of themselves. He did say he was not responsible for the students (and former students) following him, and he never promised to do anything. He just hopes he can get through the barricade at the front door and keep Ali safe in the process.

The janitor nodded appreciatively to Megan, "EMP? Then it wasn't the generator failing... that's a relief."

Not having been part of the conversation about this EMP until after the fact, Donald couldn't help but wonder how such a thing could disable all of the zombies. He saw enough action movies to know an EMP is hazardous against electronics, but surely there was nothing electronic keeping the zombies going, was there? He decided to head on up to the science room to ask the experts and get more of an understanding. Since that room should also house any acid that he might be able to fashion into grenades, so much the better.

ooc,Is the power still off, or did it come back on after the pulse?

When Tariq proposed a trip to his home-
Rachel said to Tariq, "I would go with you, more weapons will be of use, however I have a duty here to guard the scientific personnel; I can not go."

Wondering what Kate intends, Rachel tags along in her wake.
In the lab-
"This Chuck sounds like a dangerous lunatic, one more problem, eh Kate?" says Rachel ruefully. "Of course I'm with you!"

Keith says to Megan, "You wanna eat, too? I am gonna construct the worlds biggest sandwich!"

Seeing Chuck when he enters the stairwell, Emilio stops and asks, "Hey, Chcuk, everything OK down there? I heard the walkers got fired by a electro mag pulse. Is that for real?" In passing the two men and the dog he explains, "I´m going down to verify the rumour and get the generator back on. Care to head down again, Chuck?" This is asked while heading down and the last bit is fired off over the shoulder.

Handy:

Knowing that so many people showed up the last time the generator went off, Donald decides to stick with his plan and prepare for the worst by making some acid grenades in the science lab.

In the Pool Area:

Darnell could not see and did not want to fall into the pool but he took a chance in the dark holding onto LaTanya's hand.

In the Lobby:

Alvin tried to listen to see if he could hear anything downstairs but the crowd was too noisy and he did not hear a thing "I think we are clear down here. We need to get to higher ground so Lt. Garrison can get the Huey's in to lift us off. Follow my lead!" He started off to the nearest unbarricaded stairwell.

In the pool area-
Darnell and LaTanya both made their way safely past the pool on the north side, maneuvering around the pool chairs that were against the wall and not slipping in a puddle of water on the ground. Declan approached the northwest corner of the pool but he misjudged its location and fell in with a loud splash! He managed to doggie paddle and stay above the surface. "I'm okay!" he called out. He made his way to the edge of the pool and hauled himself out, trying to shake himself dry. "This reminds me of that time back in Ireland when Jimmy O'Malley fell in the pond. Come on, you two, let's get you back upstairs where at least you can see. And I'm going to need a change of clothes." His wet hand gripped Darnell's, and the three of them made their way out of the door on the west side of the room, into the basement hall.

In the basement hall-
"The stairs are this way," said Declan, turning right.

In the lobby-
"Thanks, but I need to see if there's anyone else down here who doesn't know yet," Megan said to Keith. She went over to join Sharon, Alvin, Jerry, and Murray as they headed north.

"Best not to spoil your appetite anyway," said Amelia as she passed them on her way to the lobby. "We'll be having dinner soon enough, and it's going to be quite a feast!"

In the east hall, ground floor-
Keith once again walked past the dead man with dreadlocks on his way to the cafeteria doors.

In the north hall, ground floor-
Tariq, Ali, Lori, and Kyle entered from the stairwell as Jerry and the others arrived from the south.

"Where are you taking Kyle?" asked Sharon.

"Officer Wheeler left him with us," said Lori. "She's got something important to do, apparently."

Sharon nodded. "Jerry, go lock Kyle up in one of the detention cells. We can handle things from here."

"I don't know," said Lori. "Officer Wheeler might need your help upstairs, Jerry. Maybe you should just give us the keys."

On the roof-
Dr. Saunders took another look around the city. The plan appeared to have succeeded. Everything out there was still. Surely others must have survived, perhaps thousands of them. What will they do now? she wondered. How will they adjust to the lack of electical power after the pulse? How will we adjust?

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
"I need to work out our payment," Chuck had called after Emilio. "You go on ahead." Emilio headed downstairs, and Miguel headed into the hallway.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Emilio reached the landing where Dr. Smith was treating Roy. Below him, the basement was completely dark. Tariq, Ali, Lori, and Kyle left through the door to the hall, and Donald entered.

This time Dr. Smith was the one who accidentally reopened Roy's wound. Michelle stepped in and stopped the bleeding.

Roy groaned in pain. "This isn't working out so well," he muttered. "Maybe we should call it quits before you guys kill me."

In the science lab-
"You're very welcome," said Stephanie to Michiko. "And thank you for getting the EMP device working again."

Dr. Hausmann and Dr. Somerville entered the lab. "Excellent work, Stephanie!" said Dr. Hausmann. "I am very proud of you."

"Thanks, Brigetta. It means a lot to me to hear you say that. But you did most of the work. I only finished what you started, and it wouldn't have been possible without Erica and others protecting us."

"But you did finish it, and more than that. You found Mr. Foo and got him to fix the computer, and then you did some protecting of your own back at the motel, ja? You saved Mr. Foo and Ellen's lives."

"Well...I guess so."

Dr. Liz Somerville grinned as she came over and embraced her friend. "You did great, Stephanie, admit it," she said. "Don't you think you've done enough work for now? You've earned a break."

"It has been a long and exhausting day, Liz, but we have to finish this autopsy-"

"Dr. Singh and I can take care of that," said Dr. Hausmann. "You two ladies go take it easy. I'll be sure to tell you all the results."

"Amelia's going to make a big dinner for all of us," said Liz. "You weren't here at lunchtime, but she's an excellent chef."

In the special projects lab-
"Glad to hear it," Kate told Rachel, shaking her hand. "Let's do this." Doug followed both of them out into the hall.

"Be careful, Doug!" called Lisa.

In the north hall, upper floor-
Kate, Rachel, and Doug met Miguel as he came in from the stairs, gun in hand. "Need a hand, Officer?" asked Miguel.

Kate looked at him skeptically. "I don't know what you're doing with that gun in school," she said, "but you did help stop Kyle."

"I'll explain everything afterwards, in private. I'm on your side."

"Okay, then. I can use all the help I can get." With that, she led the four of them into the classroom. Doug went in last, taking out a handgun as he followed them inside.

In the science classroom-
"We still expect full payment for the repair work," said Emily Lubachek. "Just because the EMP knocked out the generator doesn't mean we didn't do our jobs."

"Of course," said Principal Adler. "Do you think you can get it working again?"

"Don't know," said Chuck. "Emilio's on his way down to check it out. I'll join him after. If you want it fixed a second time, you'll have to pay a second time."

"Understood. Now, let's get down to brass tacks."

Tiny growled when the door opened. Everyone turned to look as Kate, Rachel, Miguel, and Doug entered. All had guns drawn. "Charles Lubachek," said Kate. "You are under arrest for suspicion of the murder of Jacob Marley. Drop your weapons and come along peacefully."

Emily reached for her gun, but Chuck shook his head. "Don't worry, Ma, they'll never make this stick. I'm innocent and they can't prove otherwise."

"You killed my uncle!" shouted Doug. He pointed his pistol at Chuck and tightened his finger on the trigger.

OOC,[b]Rachel[/b], you may act before anyone else does anything.

"Hang in there, guys. I´ll get the lights going, just need to get down there in one piece..." Emilio passes the triage on the stairwell and holds the rail leading down into the darkness. Down and through the doors. First right. He checks his pockets for the zippo, he kept leaving at the coffee table at the shop. Luckily, this wasn´t one of those days... He fished it up and pressed the button, shone the frail light and held it above his head not to destroy his vision in the relative darkness.

Krav Maga,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2181913/]Martial Arts 60% (1d100=49)[/url]

Rachel tries to disable Doug.


On his way to the kitchen-
Keith says "Suit yourself, Megan.
"Amelia, I shall be eating two meals then, I need it!"

OOC,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2182192/]Punch (2d3+1d4=8)[/url] [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2182196/]Unconcious? 20% (1d100=12)[/url] Dice are good!

Rachel punches Doug.

Donald paused in the stairwell where Roy was being treated by Dr. Smith and Michelle. He said, "Is he going to be able to get up and around on his own? I can empty the wheel barrel out and let you use it if you need." He looked at the items within and figured he should be able to carry them with no help, even if he had to wrap them up in his shirt first.

If the group didn't require the wheelbarrel, donald nodded, grabbed both sides of the wheel barrel, and tried to climb up the stairs avoiding the portable hospital scene as best he could.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
"No, thanks, I can walk," said Roy, climbing to his feet.

OOC,[b]Donald[/b], roll STR x 5 to see if you can carry the wheelbarrow upstairs. If you fail, you don't get anywhere this round.

If there is anyone new in the hallway with the Tariq, he tells them about how he is heading to his home, where he needs to see if his wife is alright and where he has supplies including firearms. If not, he keeps going to the front door.

Michiko:
-What are we suppose to do now? Does this laboratory have conditions to know how did the dead revived?

Jerry:

-They need me? What for? They did an excelent work before. I'l just lock this punk, and then I'l go upstairs.

Strength Check - succdeed,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2184260/]Strx5(65%) (1d100=50)[/url]

Donald hefts the wheelbarrel by both sides. It isn't easy... awkward and bulky as hell... but he manages and starts to climb up the stairs.

In the basement hall-
Darnell and LaTanya followed Declan through the door and into the stairwell.

In the north stairwell, basement-
As Declan, Darnell, and LaTanya entered, they could see a flame approaching from above, casting light on the darkened stairway, Emilio reached the base of the stairs and saw the two lovebirds and a sopping wet Declan. "Hey, Emilio," said Declan. "I had an argument with the swimming pool. What's going on upstairs?"

In the north hall, ground floor-
"Come along, Alvin," said Sharon, leading him, Megan, and Murray into the stairwell after checking the rooms along the hall to make sure they were empty. Jerry went with Tariq, Ali, Lori, and Kyle back to the lobby.

In the lobby-
"Just make sure y'all save some room for my Gumbo Surprise," said Amelia, following Keith into the east hall.

Jerry, Tariq, and the others arrived from the north hall. The door to the security office was still open as Sharon had left it.

"I'm sorry, Kyle," said Lori. "I'll come back and look in on you later, okay?"

Kyle just lowered his head and went along with Jerry.

"It'll take too long to break down the barricade," said Ali. "We should go out through one of the fire exits in the stairwells, either the east or the west. Then we can walk around to the front of the building and get my bike."

In the east hall, ground floor-
Keith walked through the smashed-down double doors into the cafeteria, a few dozen steps ahead of the cook on his quest for food.

In the cafeteria-
Keith entered the trashed cafeteria and began to make his way to the kitchen.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Coach Moore helped Roy to his feet and up the stairs after Donald. Dr. Bernard Smith, Michelle, Becky, and Julianne followed. Sharon, Megan, Alvin, and Murray entered from the hall.

In the science lab-
"The aliens reanimated the dead through some kind of electrical process," said Stephanie to Michiko. "I theorized that this morning, and the EMP's success seems to confirm it. We can learn more from the autopsy, but we can't exactly duplicate the conditions that caused it to animate. For one thing, we don't have their advanced technology. For another, the EMP device would prevent it from reviving. It's also probably not a good idea to try to do that anyway. As for what we should do now, that's something we'll all need to discuss. The city's in sorry shape, and without electricity it will be worse at night. There are doubtless a lot of survivors out there, and some of them may be hurt. I don't know how long the food supply will last or how long the water will stay clean."

"The working theory we have about the reanimation is that a virus was deposited on the earth by meteor showers over the last several years," said Dr. Hausmann as she started to examine the body. "This virus got into the water and the soil and worked its way up the food chain. By this point it would be in every living thing. By itself, it does nothing and causes no harm. But there was a trigger that activated it this morning. The virus will still do nothing in us as long as we live. It reanimated those who died, but now that we've sent the signal that should no longer occur. The dead will stay dead."

"Well, I'm really looking forward to this dinner," said Liz. "Until you two showed up, I was afraid we were going to be the main course."

"You should go see my friend Teresa," said Diana. "She's a whiz at fashion. She designs all the costumes we use in our school plays, and there's a whole wardrobe full of them backstage in the auditorium. I'm sure some of them will fit you. There are some real fancy dresses down there."

"That sounds like a great idea," said Erica. "Come on ladies, let's go!" She took Liz and Stephanie by the hands and led the way out into the hall. "You girls want to come along?" she called back to Diana and Michiko.

"I'd better get back to the special projects lab and see how everyone else is holding up," said Adam, following them.

"I'll go with," said Lucy, tagging along.

In the northeast hall, upper floor-
"You know, I really should be helping with the autopsy..." said Stephanie.

"You can help with the next one," said Liz. "You've more than done your part."

"She's right," said Erica. "I bet you'd look fabulous in an evening gown. Of course, you'd look great in anything."

"That's true," said Adam as he walked with Lucy.

Stephanie blushed again. "Really, Erica, you and Liz are far more beautiful than I'll ever be."

In the science classroom-
Rachel struck Doug solidly in the temple, and he folded like a poker player with a lousy hand. He lay unconscious on the floor.

"Nicely done, Rachel!" said Kate.

"Yeah, thanks," said Chuck, exhaling with relief. "That twerp was gonna kill me!"

"You might not be so grateful soon. You're still under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you by the court. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?"

"Yeah, yeah." Chuck went over to Emily and offered her Tiny's leash and his weapons and ammo. "Here take Tiny and my stuff back to the shop. You know what to do."

"Not the revolver," said Kate. "That's evidence." She slipped on a latex glove and took the .357 Magnum, and Emily took Tiny, the shotgun, his knife, and the ammo. She slung the shotgun on her back and gripped the leash. "Hands behind your back." Chuck complied, and Kate cuffed him. Then she frisked him, collected Doug's gun, and frisked him too, finding and taking some additional magazines. "Okay, let's go downstairs." Emily led Tiny out the door.

Principal Adler tried to lift Doug, but he was too heavy. "Miguel, can you please help me with him?" Miguel nodded, and the two of them were able to carry him out.

In the north hall, upper floor-
Emily pulled Tiny with her into the stairwell, while Kate marched Chuck after her, followed by Principal Adler and Miguel carrying Doug.

In the special projects lab-
Lisa poked her head out the door into the hall. "Where's Doug?" she asked, worried.

"He's being taken downstairs," Kate told her as she headed for the stairs. "I'm afraid he got angry and pulled a gun on Mr. Lubachek. Rachel stopped him. He'll be okay, but he's in some trouble."

"I'm going to have a special assembly in this lab in about ten or fifteen minutes," said Principal Adler. "Everyone who isn't leaving and doesn't have something important to do should be there. We need to discuss what we're all going to do."

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Emily, Tiny, Kate, and Chuck, entered from the hall followed by the principal and Miguel carrying Doug as the group of people from below came up. Donald could see that Emily had his axe.

On the roof-
Dr. Saunders continued to monitor the device.

Jerry:

-Come kid. But probably with some time, everything will be solved. With all the problems the world has now, everyone will be necessary and you may amend yourself.

Michiko:
-Shouldn't a group be sent to the city to see how it survive?

Looking at the trio from the basement Emilio passes them as he passes. "Yeah, you probably took cover when the lights went out." Smiling at Declan, he explains, "The EMP set off by the guys up top, stopped the zombies somehow. Unfortunately it shut down the generator again... I´m heading back to start it again. Any sign of trouble down here?"

After passing the three, Emilio takes a direct right into the generator room.

Rachel Cohen-
She relaxes her tense muscles after the contretemps with Doug, and decides to stay in the lab for the special assembly.

Keith has a severe attack of the munchies, "Come to Daddy salty snacks!" he says salivating greedily.

"You're right, Ali."

Tariq looks hard once at Jerry and Kyle, and is clearly thinking about doing something. Then he shrugs, turns, and keeps going for the fire exit.

Tariq isn't thinking about food, although he certainly will be hungry when he gets to his house.

Darnell said to LaTanya, "Lets go upstairs baby. Safety in numbers and all that after all."

ooc,Dang it, I missed the EMP explanation. :P

The janitor set down the wheelbarrel now on the top floor and proceeded to push it in the direction of the science lab. Donald looked at Emily, and then to his axe in her hand and said, "You know ... under normal circumstances people ask to borrow stuff before taking them." He poined at his axe and asked, "Are you about done with it?"

In the north stairwell, basement-
"I'm with you, baby," said LaTanya to Darnell. She took his hand and went upstairs with him.

"I'm going up to get some dry clothes," Declan called after Emilio. "I'll see how you're doing once that's done." He followed the students.

In the basement hall-
Emilio emerged from the stairwell and went into the generator room, guided by the flame from his lighter.

In the generator room-
Emilio opened up the generator's access panel and started to look at its innards. It didn't take him wrong to realize that it was fried for good. The pulse had to have ruined its delicate electronic components. Since the device on the roof was still emitting pulses at regular intervals, there would be no fixing it. Any spare parts would have to come from outside the EMP's radius of effect, or they would have been just as damaged. It would be far better to just get a new generator, considering the extensive damage, but again the generator would have to come from outside, and the pulses would simply wreck it too. Yet if the EMP device were deactivated, there would be nothing to stop ghouls from outside the affected areas from wandering in.

In the lobby-
"I hope so," Kyle said to Jerry, lowering his head as the security guard took him into the security office.

In the security office-
Jerry retrieved the keys that Sharon had left behind and locked Kyle in one of the two detention cells.

In the east hall, ground floor-
Amelia entered the cafeteria.

In the cafeteria-
Amelia followed Keith back toward her kitchen.

In the kitchen-
Keith entered the kitchen. The fire door was still lying on the floor, the barricaded doorway leading out to the construction site. The pot of stew that Amelia had started making over half an hour ago was where she had left it on the stove. It was a gas range, not electric, so there was a chance it would still work. He knew that the bulk of the food would be downstairs in the pantry, but it would be dark down there. Still, there were candles and matches in the kitchen, so he'd be able to light his way.

In the west hall, ground floor-
Ali led Lori and Tariq down the hall and into the stairwell. The fire exit at the other end would lead outside, and then it would be a simple matter to walk around to the front and retrieve his bicycle. Then they could leave the school through one of the holes the zombies had torn in the fence.

In the science lab-
"Yes, that would be a good idea," said Dr. Hausmann to Michiko. "That will take some organizing. Precautions will be needed too. The dead will not be an issue, but some of the living will be dangerous. Some of those who survived will be criminals, and others will simply be desperate and willing to do things to survive that they wouldn't ordinarily do. It would be good to see if there is any remnant of the authorities still around, though they will have their hands full with Omaha in its current state. Perhaps Officer Wheeler can find and work with the surviving police."

In the northeast hall-
"Stephanie, you've always been beautiful," said Liz. "Just wait until you see yourself after Teresa has worked her magic." She led the small group around the corner, back towards the special projects lab.

In the north hall, upper floor-
Rachel emerged from the science classroom and crossed the hall back to the special projects lab. As she did, she saw Liz, Stephanie, Erica, Adam, and Lucy round the corner and approach from the south.

"Hey, Rachel!" said Liz, leading her companions to the special projects lab. "How's it going?"

Lisa Marley emerged from the lab and followed her brother as he was carried into the stairwell.

In the special projects lab-
"Like, what happened out there?" asked Heather when she saw Rachel appear in the doorway.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Sharon led the others upstairs. Duncan, LaTanya, and Declan arrived from the basement and could at last see again. They caught a glimpse of the others heading upstairs.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
"In case you haven't noticed," said Emily Lubachek to Donald, "these are not normal circumstances. We were running for our lives, and we needed weapons. You weren't anywhere around to ask. Yeah, I'm done with it." She returned the axe to the wheelbarrow and led Tiny downstairs. Kate followed them, escorting Chuck, who was handcuffed, and then Principal Adler and Miguel carried Doug after them. Lisa entered from the hall. The group that had arrived from below went into the hall and to the special projects lab. Then Sharon, Megan, Alvin, and Murray came up from the ground floor.

On the roof-
Dr. Helene Saunders sighed as she looked out over the city again. To the west, the sun was getting lower. It would set in a little over two hours. After that, it would get dark and cold. Without electricity, that would make things difficult. The people of Omaha would be unprepared, and while the danger from the zombies had passed, the night would bring its own dangers. There was time to get ready, but would it be enough?

OOC,Chapter 4 is now complete for Omaha! Congratulations on surviving, and especially on not allowing even one character to die! There will be about ten or fifteen minutes of game time between now and the start of Chapter 5. Feel free to continue posting and talking to other characters, and please state what you're doing with your time and where you want to be when Chapter 5 begins. You can be anywhere in the school, or you may leave and start heading somewhere else (either alone or as part of a group). NPCs may or may not go with you if you ask. You may assume that you learn about everything that took place in the public parts of this thread (i.e., not in private spoiler buttons) from other characters in the intervening time between chapters. There will be no more dice rolling at this point until Chapter 5 commences.

Emilio realizes the problem and decides to head over to Becky´s mech workshop. He makes it across the yard and scans the dead bodies by the fence for armour and weapons.

Handy:

Other actions-,Back at the shop he sees if one of the old 1965 Mustang Fastback, plain ignition muscle car, starts after the EMP pulses. He also fills her up to get through the night - with heat. He gets a supply of water and gas which he stashes on the floor of the back seat. He throws ten blankets in as well. Dirty and greasy, but one can´t be picky in a situation like this. While at the shop he checks the storage for a gas powered generator... The tasks are time consuming but when done he returns to the school yard and honks.

Handy:

Edited / added information on actions,Emilio will check if the tow truck is still working, as he has the keys in his pocket. AND he will bust the locked trap door open at the shop while rummaging for stuff to put in the Mustang. (Assuming his spare time project is available...) The shady business of Chuck´s need to get an explanation and Emilio is pretty sure the answer is down below that trap door.

Keith says to Amelia, "Okay, I'm going down to the pantry - it had better be worth it!" He adds timidly, "The pantry is awful dark, you need any ingredients? Maybe you ought to come along with me, too."

Special projects lab-
Rachel smiles at Liz and gives her a quick hug.

To Heather-
"Seems Chuck Lubacheck is a bad boy. Officer Wheeler has taken care of him."

OOC/Mr. Handy,Keith will eat his way through the minutes 'til Chapter 5 and Rachel can wait impatiently.

In the kitchen-
"Yes, I'll come with," said Amelia when she entered the kitchen. She took a candle and lit it with a match, then led Keith down into the pantry. "It's better this way, since I know where everything is. What are you looking for?"

In the special projects lab-
"Chuck killed Doug and Lisa's uncle," said Laura Shelley, the principal's secretary, who had been silent until now. "Officer Wheeler told us before she made the arrest, and Rachel helped her."

Stephanie hugged Rachel too. "Good job," she told her. "That could have easily ended badly. I've seen far too many people shooting at other people today. I'm relieved that it ended without bloodshed."

Emilio Montoya,There's not going to be enough time for all of that before Chapter 5 starts. There's one classic car at [b]Chuck[/b]'s shop (the 1965 Mustang). You'll have time to make sure it works and make the preparations you specified, as well as to check the tow truck (which won't work; you'll have a chance to figure out why in the new chapter). That will bring you up to the where you're checking out the trap door, which is the sort of thing that should be roleplayed anyway.

Jerry will return to Officer Wheeler to try to see what is the best action. Michiko doesn't have much to do besides following the others.

Alvin whistled for Murry and then went downstairs and out the door heading to intercept Taliq and his group.

OOC,The story continues in the Omaha section of Chapter 5, found on the links below. [b]Tariq al-Tikriti[/b], [b]Ali al-Tikriti[/b], [b]Lori Desmond[/b], [b]Alvin Drummond[/b], and [b]Murray[/b] are moving to the following thread.

Homecoming

OOC,[b]Amelia Delacroix[/b] and [b]Keith Stewart[/b] are moving to the following thread.

Food Glorious Food

OOC,[b]Jerry Law[/b], [b]Kyle Rogers[/b], [b]Doug Marley[/b], and [b]Chuck Lubachek[/b] are moving to the following thread.

Jailbirds

OOC,[b]Donald Woodridge[/b] and [b]Declan McLeod[/b] are moving to the following thread.

The Mechanics

OOC,[b]Dr. Helene Saunders[/b] is moving to the following thread.

The Lonely Watch

OOC,[b]Emily Lubachek[/b], [b]Tiny[/b], and [b]Emilio Montoya[/b] are moving to the following thread.

Secrets

OOC,Everyone else is moving to the following thread.

Afterschool Special