"Ghost, you've always been good to me, but Mutt is a madman. If I come out of my hiding place, nice and easy, and don't cause you any trouble; you'll protect me from him, won't you?"
Zoe will step out, hands up. But only half way, so part of her is concealed by the boxes, she's still holding the two-by-four so Ghost can not see it. "You promise?"
[OOC, How far away is Ghost from where Zoe is standing?]
In the basement-
With her hands cuffed together, Zoe could not hold onto the two-by-four and conceal it behind the boxes while still raising her hands, but she leaned the wooden board against the pile of boxes so she could grab it quickly. When she emerged, she saw Ghost standing at the bottom of the stairs, some twelve feet away. He had his AK-47 strapped to his back and held a pistol in one hand, though he did not point it at her. She remembered that he had frequently taken advantage of her, though he had never been rough about it like some of the others.
"I promise, Zoe," he said. "You've always been my favorite. Look, I know you only ran because you were scared of Mutt, but I'll make sure he doesn't kill you. It's Lara he's really mad at. She's the one who fired the shot that killed Jeff. Come on, let's go upstairs."
Lara Voronova,[b]In front of the house-[/b]
[b]Lara[/b] hit the ground running, adrenalin and fear coursing through her veins. She was alone, defenseless, and naked except for her towel, and the night wind chilled her bones. Unsure where she was or where to go, she [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2403756/]ran straight ahead[/url], crossing the dirt track and darting into the woods. Behind her, [b]Mutt[/b] reached the ground.
Raquel Orozco,[b]In the child's bedroom-[/b]
Whimpering, [b]Raquel[/b] pulled at the handcuffs. There was no way to break the metal links, but maybe if she pulled hard enough, she could break off the radiator bar to which she was cuffed. Unfortunately, [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2403757/]she wasn't strong enough[/url].
"Alright, I trust you." Zoe walks over to Ghost.
Quietly: "Hey, is there a way we can escape? Get away from all this horror? I'd be your girl - willingly."
In the basement- Ghost put his free arm around Zoe's waist and started to guide her back upstairs. "That is one sexy dress you found," he said, admiring her. He whispered in her ear. "That's a real tempting offer. I do have keys to the van...but Mutt is a dangerous man to cross. I'm not sure that's such a good idea. We'll be all right once we get where we're going."
In the living room-
When Ghost and Zoe emerged from the basement, Zoe could see that living room was now lit. Both the basement door and the front door had been smashed open. The kitchen door remained open, and the lights were on in there as well. The door opposite the basement door remained closed. Ghost steered Zoe towards the stairs leading to the upper floor.
OOC,[b]Zoe[/b], roll Persuade to convince [b]Ghost[/b] to run off with you. Also, roll Listen.
Lara Voronova,[b]In the woods-[/b]
[b]Lara[/b] ran into the woods, not daring to look back, not caring where she was going. She just had to get as far away from that place - and [b]Mutt[/b] - as she could. The ground hurt her bare feet, but she ignored the pain and forced herself to go on.
Raquel Orozco,[b]Raquel[/b] strained at the radiator with both hands, but [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2405722/]it was hopeless[/url].
Even as she said the words to Ghost, she knew they did not sound right: no doubt, it was because she'd rather be beating the man's brains with the two-by-four. Wait and hope, wait and hope.
In the living room- Ghost ushered Zoe up the stairs to the hallway.
In the upstairs hall- Ghostpaused in the hall, cocking an ear. He let go of Zoe and pulled out his radio. "Mutt, you going somewhere?" he asked.
"You can speak freely," said Nitro. "Those rangers went on patrol in their pickup, so you may run into them out there."
"Just chasing down Lara," said Mutt. "Raquel is already secured."
"All right. I've got Zoe right here. Over and out." He put the radio back on his belt and put his arm around Zoe again. As he walked Zoe down the hall, she could see that the door to the child's bedroom was open and the lights were on inside. The window at the back of the room was open, and Raquel was handcuffed to a radiator below the window.
Raquel Orozco,[b]Raquel[/b] also heard the sound of a vehicle starting up, coming from the left side of the house. It drove past the front of the house and away.
Lara Voronova,[b]Lara[/b] is moving to the thread linked below. Please stop reading the current thread.
[url=http://www.callofcthulhu.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=160&t=2266]Damsel in Distress[/url]
In the upstairs hall-
"No, no trouble," said Ghost, escorting Zoe down the hall. "We're getting along with them just fine." He glanced into the bathroom before leading her past it and through the door at the end of the hall.
In the master bedroom- Ghost pulled Zoe into the bedroom, turned on the light switch with his elbow, and closed the door behind him with his foot. With the lights on, Zoe could now see that what she had taken for a pile of blankets in the darkness lying on the bed was in fact more clothes. Apparently the owners of the house had had the same idea she had and dumped all of the clothes there before choosing what they wanted to take and leaving the rest.
"I have a feeling Mutt's going to be busy with Lara for a while," said Ghost, "even after he catches her. That gives us plenty of time to get reacquainted." He turned her around to face him, looking her over and licking his lips.
OOC,[b]Zoe[/b], roll Listen.
In the child's bedroom-
Raquel Orozco,[b]Raquel[/b] began to sob again when she heard [b]Ghost[/b] take [b]Zoe[/b] away. [i]He's going to rape her, I know it,[/i] she thought sorrowfully. With renewed determination, she tugged at the metal radiator bar [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2416276/]to no avail[/url].
"My God! That's all you guys think about." Smiling Zoe hooks a finger over her dress strap as if to pull it down. "Oh, these handcuffs - I can't do anything," she says, fumbling.
Raquel Orozco,[b]Raquel[/b] tugged and tugged, but [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2421988/]the metal bar of the radiator held firmly[/url]. She wept in despair, unable to save either [b]Zoe[/b] or herself from their horrible fate.
In the master bedroom- Zoe could hear Raquel weeping from down the hall. The poor woman sounded completely distraught.
"Well, I haven't had any all day," said Ghost. He pulled Zoe close and kissed her passionately, then eased her over to the bed. With one hand, he swept the pile of clothes off of its surface and onto the floor. "Unfortunately, I don't have the key to those bracelets. Mutt's got it. Maybe when he gets back I can remove them. He'll probably want them for Lara anyway. In the meantime, I'll be happy to help you take off your dress."
OOC,That would be a Kick roll. It's a 25% base chance, and it does 1d6 damage (plus your damage bonus of 1d4). You have a better chance with a Punch, though that only does 1d3+db damage. However, a Punch can also be a knockout attack if you declare it as such (indicate this in the Note section on Invisible Castle). If you roll high enough damage, you have a small chance of knocking him out instantly, though the damage would be reduced to 1/3 normal in that case. If he is not knocked out, he would still take full damage. A Kick cannot knock him out in that way, though it does do more damage. If you hit and roll high for damage, even if it's not a knockout attempt, he'll have to roll CON x 5 to stay conscious.
OOC,Good hit! That's 1d3+1d4, not 1d3+4. Reroll that 1d4 and add it to the 2 you already rolled on the 1d3 to get your damage, so you should get a result from 3 to 6. If this was a knockout attempt, you have a 5% chance to knock him out if you do 5 damage or a 10% chance if you do 6 damage. You can roll 1d100 to see if you KO him.
You should also roll 1d20 for a hit location.
Raquel Orozco,[b]Raquel[/b] continued to [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2424856/]struggle uselessly[/url].
"Leave her alone!" shouted Raquel, though she knew there was nothing she could do for Zoe.
In the master bedroom- Zoe unleashed all of her pent-up rage and swung her cuffed fists at Ghost. She was trying to clock him on the head, but she ended up hitting his right arm instead.
"Yow!" he shouted, staggering back a couple of steps. He pulled his pistol out and pointed it at Zoe. "What's the matter with you?! I'm the only one who can save your life, remember? Otherwise Mutt's going to torture and kill you once he's finished with Lara. Is that what you want? You'll be nice to me if you know what's good for you. Now get undressed and get in bed."
OOC,[b]Zoe[/b], if you try to hit him again, he will get a shot off before you can do so.
OOC,There are three windows in the bedroom: one at the front of the house (on the right side of the room), one at the side (at the rear of the room), and one at the back (on the left side of the room). The windows are just panes of glass. Each one is actually two panes of glass, an upper pane and a lower pane. When the windows are opened, the lower pane is raised and is adjacent to the upper pane. Currently, all of the windows are closed. If you want to attempt something involving one of the windows, make sure you specify which one. Once you post, I can go ahead and update.