Play@YSDC

Z-Day - 5:05 PM Central Time - Brooks High School, Omaha, Nebraska
In the special projects lab-
Most of the faculty, staff, students, and visitors at Brooks High were assembled in the special projects lab. Now that the electromagnetic pulse device had been activated, knocking out the power and frying the equipment, there was nothing important about this lab. The communications equipment had already served its purpose, and the room had been chosen simply because the vast majority of the people were already there, and there was no sense in making everyone move.

Stephanie Bridges had yet again foregone a chance to rest and relax after Donald Woodridge, who was down in the auditorium barricading the smashed in fire exits, had come upstairs and asked what was going on. He had requested that the scientists make some acid grenades, and she had agreed, being the foremost chemist among them. Dr. Edward Singh was also an excellent one, but he had been busy helping Dr. Brigetta Hausmann with the autopsy. Of course, in his mind, she was the one helping him. Chester Johnson, the science teacher, had tried to help, but he just couldn't think straight today. The idea of turning lab chemicals into weapons was alien to him, but Stephanie had taken to it like a natural.

Adam Donnelly grinned when she arrived and told him about it. "Atta girl, Steph!" he said. "There's nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it. Maybe you could assemble a radio out of coconuts."

"Actually, a potato would make a decent battery..." started Stephanie, "but I'm not MacGyver. If anything, you remind me of him, Adam. I haven't seen that show in a while, but I've always loved it. I had a crush on MacGyver growing up - wait, that didn't come out sounding right." Her cheeks turned red.

"Sounded just fine from where I'm standing."

"Well, when you're ready to take a break from saving the world," Dr. Liz Somerville said to Stephanie, "you and I have an appointment with Teresa in wardrobe. Tonight's dinner is going to be special. Besides, if you're going to save the world, you might as well look good doing it."

"She looks great right now," said Trooper Erica Spears, "but the right fashions will bring out her beauty even more."

"Thanks," said Stephanie. "Maybe we can find something for you, too."

"I'm sure I can," said Teresa Vazquez. "There are all sorts of costumes backstage. Diana, do you want to come too after the assembly? I've got a dress with your name on it."

Miguel Garcia walked into the lab, the last of the students to arrive. Shortly afterwards, Principal Lawrence Adler and Officer Kate Wheeler arrived. "Good evening, everyone," said the principal. "I'll give all of you a minute or so to finish up your conversations before we get started."

Rachel Cohen stands to one side in the lab, watching and listening to the others. She is the security expert who arrived at the school with the scientists. Rachel notes Trooper Erica Spears compliment to Stephanie - and muses on relationships...

Rachel nods to Kate Wheeler, "Officer," she says respectfully.

In the special projects lab-
"Good to see you, Rachel," said Kate with a smile on her face. "I want to thank you again for what you did back there, coming with me and disarming Doug. That could have ended very messily if you hadn't been there. I'm going to be heading out to my precinct after this meeting to find other surviving police officers, and hopefully to bring some back. We have prisoners that need to be booked and locked up properly, and evidence that needs to be processed and examined. You're one of the people I'm counting on to hold down the fort while I'm gone."

Everybody else had stopped talking, so once Kate finished, Principal Adler began to address the crowd: "I know you're all hungry," he said. "Amelia tells me dinner will be ready at 5:30, and there will be enough for everyone. We have a lot of perishable food that won't last the night, and she can't eat it all herself, as much as she'd like to. I also know that a lot of you have families and loved ones out in the city, and you don't know if they're all right or not. You can leave the school to go seek them out if you like, but at this point I'd advise against it. If they are out there, they know you're here and may very well be on their way to come find you. If you were to leave, you could miss each other. You'll also be much safer spending the night here, with a large group of people, than being out on the streets by yourself at night. The dead seem to be staying dead, but some of the living may present a threat. We've survived this far by working together, and if we continue to do so, we'll not only survive but thrive. This is a different world than the one in which we woke up this morning, and we can make it a better place. I'm open to suggestions from all those assembled here that might help us, whether in the short term or the long term. If you have any ideas, my ears are open."

Darnell stood up and said, "Mr. Adler, Coach, Teachers, fellow students...I want to know why in the hell we are keeping people alive like Kyle who tried to kill us today. If this is a different world then the one we woke up to this morning then I say we should hold a summery trial and then a quick execution. There will be no jails anymore. Kyle will simply be allowed to escape justice. Well we can give him it here. Anyone in favor?"

Rachel replies to Officer Wheeler, "I shall do my best, Kate. I know you'll come back to the school soon!"

Rachel listens to Principal Adler's sensible words and then Darnell's response. She says, "People, if I may speak out. Today our world has turned to shit! However, just because everything is different that does not mean we need to change the way society works. Darnell, who decides on those that live and those that are executed - YOU? We should continue as before."

Danell said, "Hey Kyle tried to kill my girl and he just about killed our star quarterback as well as myself. My mother always says, 'An eye for an eye' so by that rational we should give him a taste of his own medicine. We should hit him with a bat, shoot him, and then put a pipe bomb up his ass like he tried to do to us. Your little sensiblity can't take it Miss High and Mighty? Then you can sit your ass down while justice is done. Or do you really think that Kyle would help if the zombies attacked us? Hell he did not help last time. This time he may shoot and kill you which at this point won't be much of a loss. I say if you want civilization we should vote. And I want to point out that at the end of the day Rachel there won't be here. She will go back to Atlanta leaving us high and dry among the zombie horde. So her opinion should not matter."

In the special projects lab-
LaTanya looked shocked. "Darnell, what the hell's gotten into you?" she asked. "This ain't like you. And Kyle wasn't going to kill me, anyway."

Kate frowned at Darnell. "This is not the Wild West, young man," she said. "I won't have people taking the law into their own hands. So far, nobody has died at this school today, and I intend to keep it that way. Omaha will survive, and it will remain civilized. Rachel has done an admirable job protecting all of us, and you should apologize to her immediately. We don't execute people who break the law. Kyle will be tried by a jury of his peers, and he still has the same rights he had yesterday."

"Well said," added the principal.

"Like, get a clue!" said Heather. "That psycho Kyle should totally fry!"

Kelly Cameron stood up and faced Darnell. "Kyle was trying to help us when he went to get those guns," she said. "It was your buddy Roy who threatened him with a baseball bat. You have no idea what he's really like, do you? Be careful when you cry out for revenge against anyone who's done something wrong - your friend could be the next one on the receiving end if you got your way!" She looked to be on the verge of tears.

Darnell looked at LaTanya and smiled then he said to the group, "We don't know why Kyle went for those guns. I do know this though. Unless Kyle knew about the zombies before this morning he had the guns in his locker which means he was planning to do something with them. Are you all mad? You going to forget that little point? And if Kate there does take Kyle to the police station they will just let him out anyway. There is no judge and no jury anymore. This is the world we live in now. Get used to it officer. I say Heather has it right. This is a new world. So do you want to vote or was Thomas Jefferson right when he said that the tree of liberty needs to be watered with blood every now and then. So vote then dam it but reemember he was going to kill you all."

Handy,Not sure if I did Fast Talk right but I got a 54 and only needed 55 or less. So did I manage it correctly?

Darnell looked around and saw many people nodding thier heads to what he was saying.

Michiko was stunned: how could they speak in such a way to superiors? They should have listen and only give an advice if asked. A society such this couldn't survive long...

Rachel is a stuck-up bitch - she knows who she is -, she is also a mean bitch. She checks out Darnell, to see the easiest way to take him down, if necessary.

In the special projects lab-
"You tell 'em, Darmell!" said Roy from where he was resting on the row of chairs. "That little brat should die!" He glared at Kelly. "And as for you, you better shut your mouth." The girl shrank away, frightened.

"Easy there, big fellow," said Ron Moore. "I agree with you, though. Nobody messes with my team!"

Principal Adler cleared his throat. "There isn't going to be any vote, and there isn't going to be any lynching, not in my school! We will not descend into mob rule. The laws of this land still stand, and Officer Wheeler and Trooper Spears represent that law and are here to enforce it. We will not have revenge. That sort of thing never stops. Too many people have died already today. None of them died here, and it's going to stay that way. There will be justice, rest assured, but everything will be done properly." His elooquence firmly calmed the assembled crowd.

"Sorry, boss," said the coach, lowering his head. "I just got carried away."

"I understand how you feel, but we can't let emotion defeat reason. Civilization may stand or fall because of what the people of Omaha do today. Now, are there any legitimate suggestions about what we should do?"

OOC,The Fast Talk roll was a success, but a narrow one, so it wouldn't convince that many people. Anyhow, the principal's Persuade overrides Fast Talk, and it's a special success to boot.

"Roy lets get the fuck out of here. Fuck you all. You can take all the rest to the po po but Kyle threatned my child by threating to harm LaTanya and that will not stand. I will see justice done and done properly. The youth are in control now. Anyone who wants to come may do so." Darnell stormed out of the special projects lab and toward the staircase to go downstairs.

"Phew! That was a little bit tense," says Rachel ironically.

In the special projects lab-
"Darnell, what the hell's gotten into you?" said LaTanya. "This isn't like you! Don't you walk out that door!"

"Like, I'm outta here too," said Heather.

"Yeah, screw all you guys," grumbled Roy. He pulled himself painfully to his feet. Heather put an arm around him and helped him towards the door.

"People, please!" said Principal Adler. "What you're after isn't justice, it's just revenge. That would make us no better than the criminals we have locked up. And if you take revenge, someone else will want revenge on you for it. It's a cycle that never ends, unless we break it here and now."

"Come on, Heather, let's make like a tree and get out of here." Roy and Heather followed Darnell.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Darnell, Roy, and Heather entered the stairwell from the hallway as Donald Woodridge and Declan McLeod reached the upstairs landing, carrying a wheelbarrow between them which they set down on the floor.

"We don't have to listen to those losers," said Heather. "We can totally do whatever we want."

"Yeah!" grunted Roy.

"You know who we should get to join us? Keith Stewart. Last I heard he, like, went to the kitchen."

Donald paused a moment as his eyes moved from one person talking to the next wondering what had set these people off. "Leaving here is a mistake," he said plainly. "The infected ... they can't come here. You leave and you're fair game. Best thing to do is wait it out. Plenty of food and drink here to sustain us for a while. And there's strength in numbers."

He cleared his throat and set his end of the wheelbarrel with a few makeshift spears with knives duct-taped on broom handles down. "Of course, if you're determined, and intend on taking Keith, ask him to return my chainsaw please. I'll let him take one of my spears if he wants, but the chainsaw is school property."

Turning back to Declan, Donald shrugged, "Aliens ... or high-tech terrorists... or maybe a government project gone awry. I think it's all just guesswork right now. No one can be certain without seeing someone who's behind it all, right?"

darnell said, "We ain't going anywhere except to the security office to get justice on that little bastard Kyle who thinks that he can get away with bringing guns to school, hurting my girl and my baby, and all that will happen is a slap on the wrist. Fuck him. We going to go give an eye for an eye while those wimpy liberals back there debate on what to do. You care to join us?"

"Kate, Trooper Spears, Principle Adler, that young hoodlum Darnell will do harm to Kyle. I'm unsure if I care, but once the teenagers do as they please the community of the school will finish."

Mr. Handy,Re. Rachel's secrets, would stealing the laptop be any use?

Donald shrugged, "Seems to me we have bigger things to worry about than proper punishment for someone who wasn't using his head. Besides that, he's another abled body, and we need all the abled bodies we can muster. This is war, son." He looked Darnell in the eyes as he spoke and added, "If we make it through this thing alive, then I'll be all too happy to help you make sure Kyle has his just desserts."

Donald then turned toward the scientists and asked, "Did you have any luck with those grenades... I mean, the acid vials I was asking about?"

In the special projects lab-
"Yeah, we'd better go stop them before they do something foolish," said Kate. "Erica, you coming?"

"Sure," said Erica. "Continue with the assembly. We'll be back once this is settled."

"Rachel, can I count on you too?" Kate was already out the door, and Erica followed her to the stairs.

"Yeah, I prepared two acid flasks," Stephanie told Donald. "They're in the regular science lab. Be careful with them, the acid is very strong."

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Heather and Roy followed Darnell downstairs, while Declan went with Donald into the special projects lab.

A moment later, Kate and Erica entered from the hall.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Darnell, Roy, and Heather reached the ground floor landing.

"Of course, Kate." She jogs after them.

Darnell said, "Guys I am glad your with me. That means alot. Now lets get to the Security Office." He began to walk quickly in that direction.

After a brisk thanks to Stephanie, Donald headed into the science lab and looked around for the two flasks of acid, offering one to Declan once he found them. "Never know when it might come in handy. But like the lady said, be careful with it. It'd be a shame to have it break in your pants pocket." He tucked one vial into his overall chest pocket.

In the special projects lab-
"We'll discuss law enforcement matters after they return," said Lawrence Adler as Rachel departed. "Now I'll turn the floor over to the scientists so they can explain what's going on and what we can do now."

"Danke, Herr Adler," said Dr. Brigetta Hausmann. "For the past several years, meteor showers have been depositing a substance all over the Earth. It is partially organic in nature, und we are very lucky to have detected it. I have been researching this compound for years, und for the past year I have been assisted by Stephanie Bridges here. We have learned that the compound has gotten into the water table und made its way up the food chain. It can now be found within every living thing on earth, but it is harmless by itself. It requires a trigger to activate it, but even so it does nothing to the living. The dead, however, are reanimated by the trigger activating the compound. Stephanie has deduced that the trigger is some sort of electrical signal. When the compound is activated, it causes the dead to rise, and then they seek out and attempt to consume the living. They only attack humans, and they ignore animals - and pretty much everything else. The compound exhibits some properties of a virus, and it causes the host bodies to generate a poison in their bodily fluids. When someone is bitten, this poison enters the bloodstream of the victim and almost invariably results in death and reanimation within hours. We have encountered one person who was immune. We can speculate as to why she survived her bite, but we cannot say for certain."

In the north hall, upper floor-
Declan followed Donald around the corner to the left as Rachel headed into the stairwell.

In the northeast hall, upper floor-
"I'll be careful with it," said Declan as they walked. "I learned my lesson long ago." He held up his three-fingered hand.

The door to the science lab was just ahead. Through it, the two men could see two flasks filled with a clear liquid and tightly stoppered on one of the lab tables.

OOC,[b]Donald[/b], you can't move quite that fast. This turn you may go into the lab and take a flask.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Rachel followed Kate and Erica into the stairway.

"Thanks for coming again, Rachel," said Kate with a smile. "I know we're in good hands with you watching our backs." She and Erica descended the stairs.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
"Hey, we're a team, dude," Roy said to Darnell. "I throw 'em, you catch 'em. And Heather cheers us on while lookin' good in a miniskirt."

"Like, I can do more than that," said Heather. "If I had a pistol, I could totally show you guys a thing or two." She and Roy followed Darnell out into the hall.

Kate, Erica, and Rachel reached the bottom landing shortly thereafter.

In the north hall, ground floor-
Darnell, Roy, and Heather made their way onwards. The lobby was visible ahead.

OOC,[b]Darnell[/b], roll Listen if you enter the lobby. The base skill is 25%.

Darnell was too busy secretly looking at Heather's ass to pay attention to anything in the lobby. He did not hear anything.

ooc,Meh... just trying to speed things up so I can get past all the boring logistics.

Donald entered the science lab and approached the vials of poison taking particular note of how it looked and its general texture (color, odor, whether runny or goey - more like water or syrup). He pulled out a handkerchief from his back pocket and wrapped it around the vial, then tucked the vial into his chest pocket of his overalls, and handed the second vial to DeClan.

"Now where?" he asked. "Maybe we should head down to make sure those kids don't do anything really stupid."

"No problem, Kate. This is gonna be ugly. Maybe we should lock up Darnell, he appears to be the ringleader."

In the special projects lab-
"Why do you think she survived?" asked Diana.

"Well, she is an undercover narcotics agent," said Dr. Hausmann. "She had to take a variety of mind-altering drugs to maintain her cover. There was another woman who was on Valium who is the only one we know of who survived the mosquito-like creatures sting, so they tore her apart instead. It is possible that certain types of drugs may confer immunity, but we do not know. The mosquito poison may not even be related to the poison in the bites of the dead."

"So we should all get stoned?" asked Lisa.

"Nein! First of all, we are safe from the dead in Omaha now, and the mosquito-things died out within hours of exposure to Earth's atmosphere. Plus, as I said, we do not know for sure what types of drugs if any would confer immunity, and they have serious side effects. You should not put dangerous substances in your body, ja?"

OOC,[b]Michiko[/b], roll Psychology.

In the science lab-
Declan followed Donald into the lab. He took the second flask, wrapped it up as well, and wedged it carefully inside his toolbox. "Thanks," he said. "Yeah, let's stop those youngsters from doing something foolish. We'll probably have to use the north stairs. Jumping off the balcony may be the fastest way down to the security office, but I wouldn't try it while carrying these puppies. We blocked off the other stairs. The fire escapes would still get us down to the ground, so we could do that and then use your keys to open a fire exit on the ground floor."

OOC,[b]Donald[/b], you may move as far as the northeast hall this round.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
"He hasn't actually done anything yet," said Kate, leading the way through the door and into the hallway. "If he does, though, then I'll arrest him. We're running out of space to lock people up, though."

In the north hall, ground floor-
Heather and Roy went with Darnell into the lobby. Kate and Erica led the way into the hall from the stairs and saw the teenagers in the distance ahead of them.

In the lobby-
Darnell, Roy, and Heather entered the lobby, which was still a mess from the earlier battle. The door to the security office was wide open. There were raised voices coming from inside, but Darnell couldn't tell who was speaking or what they were saying. Heather was oblivious as always, but Roy heard them just fine. "That's Doug Marley and Chuck Lubachek in there getting in each other's faces," he said. "Jerry Law's in there too, trying to calm 'em down, but he's not having mcuh luck. Kyle must be in there, but he's not talking. We need to huddle and come up with a plan quick. The fuzz ain't far behind us."

"Like, you're the quarterback," said Heather. She thought for a second, then leaned in close and whispered to Darnell and Roy.

Darnell Jones and Roy McCrumb,"I don't think they hear us coming inside," whispered [b]Heather[/b]. "Let's go in real quick. I'll lock the door to keep the bitches out while you guys handle the rough stuff. Maybe [b]Doug[/b] will help us get revenge if we help him get revenge on [b]Chuck[/b] too."

Darnell said, "Good plan lets move people!" He quickly ran for the door of the security office.

"That's a good idea," Donald said with an approving nod to Declan. He started making his way, but made sure to take one of the spears from the wheel barrel and leaving the rest there and off to the side. "Let's get to moving," Donald said as he dug out the keys from his pocket and started moving with a sense of purpose.

"I say lock up Darnell. He'll harm himself or others if he is not stopped. However,Kate, you are authority; I'll back up whatever decision you take."

In the special projects lab-

Michiko Watanabe,You never rolled Psychology as I asked, so I rolled for you. I had to use real dice since Invisible Castle is down, and I got a 06, which succeeds. [b]Michiko[/b] noticed that [b]Miguel Garcia[/b] tensed up briefly when [b]Dr. Hausmann[/b] spoke the words "undercover narcotics agent."

"Even if we could find a means of protection against the poison," Dr. Hausmann continued, "it would be years before we could develop an effective vaccine, especially with the world in its current state. And then there is the matter of disseminating it. The best protection is not to be bitten in the first place. At least anyone who is bitten should merely die from now on instead of rising up."

"Is that only within the range of the EMP device?" asked Diana.

"Nein, throughout the whole world. I'll let Stephanie explain that part. She is the physics expert, and it is a field I know little about. And after all, it was she who pulled this off."

"You laid all the groundwork, Brigetta," said Stephanie. "All I did was finish what you started."

"You did a lot more than that, Stephanie."

In the northeast hall, upper floor-
Declan grabbed a hammer from the wheelbarrow before following Donald down the hall. The intersection loomed ahead of them.

OOC,You can reach the north hall this round. In the following round you'll be able to reach either the north stairwell or the balcony.

In the north hall, ground floor-
Rachel entered the hall from the stairs, following Erica and Kate as they hurried to the lobby.

In the lobby-
Roy and Heather followed Darnell into the security office just seconds before Erica and Kate made it to the lobby. The security office door slammed shut.

OOC,[b]Darnell[/b], [b]Heather[/b], and [b]Roy[/b] are moving to the thread linked below. Please stop reading the current thread at this point, and do not read the posts above the one in the link. Everyone else remains in the current thread.

Jailbirds

She whistles in frustration, "I bet they've barricaded the door."

Donald heads for the north stairwell. "No sense trying any heroics and breaking a leg or something," he said to Declan.

In the special projects lab-
"We're safe from that here anyway," said Stephanie. "As long as you stay within a mile or two of the school, you don't have anything to fear from being bitten by the dead. We also don't know if taking Valium even works, or if it does what kind of dosage is needed to provide protection or even if it only protects some of the time. Besides, we don't have any Valium - unless any of you have some, that is. Whatever amount there is will be in limited supply, and nobody is going to be manufacturing any more for a long, long time. We might be able to manufacture it if we had the right facilities, but not in large enough quantities for everyone who's still alive. If we could get some samples, maybe we could run some tests in the lab and find out if it might have any effect. Developing a vaccine is a lengthy and complicated process even under the best of circumstances."

In the north hall, upper floor-
Donald and Declan raced through the halls as fast as they dared while carrying flasks of acid. They ran past the door to the special projects lab and into the stairwell.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Donald and Declan rushed in from the hall.

OOC,[b]Donald[/b], you can reach the ground floor landing this round. Of course I'll let you know when to move to a new thread, but you're not close to doing so yet.

In the north hall, ground floor-
Rachel followed the other women into the lobby.

In the lobby-
Erica was the first to reach the door. She tried the knob, but it remained locked. "Dammit, they've locked us out!" she said. She took a step back and slammed into the door with her shoulder. It started to give somewhat, but remained mostly intact.

OOC,[b]Rachel[/b], you can go ahead and make an unarmed attack on the door. You go before [b]Kate[/b], so I'll roll for her in the next update if necessary. If you "miss," that just means you fail to do damage to the door; you're obviously not going to miss a large stationary target like that. Just choose the attack mode (punch or kick would be most effective). If you succeed, and your roll is also less than or equal to your Martial Arts skill, you double the dice for base damage (but not your damage bonus). Thus, if you got 66 or less with a Punch attack, you'd do 2d3+1d4 damage. If you got 67 exactly, you would do 1d3+1d4 damage, since the Punch succeeds but Martial Arts does not. If you got 68 or higher, you would do no damage to the door. A Kick would do 2d6+1d4 damage on any success, since your Martial Arts score is higher. You could instead shoot the door if you like (point blank range, but roll anyway in case of Malfunction). However, you risk hitting someone on the other side or the bullet ricocheting and hitting someone on your side.

Donald hit the stairwell and went down two steps at a time, but keeping his hand on the railing. Tripping to a face-first fall might be a particularly bad thing what with that vial of acid in the front chest pocket of his overalls.

"Brute strength seems to be the answer. We need Darnell! - Only kidding. A couple of fellas would do the job.
"What do you think, Kate and Erica? Perhaps a shouted warning that if we have to break down the door, everyone will be locked up?"

In the lobby-
"Shout what you like," said Kate as she backed up and prepared to attack the door, "but somehow I don't think they'll listen to reason. We need to get through this door fast."

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Declan followed Donald downstairs.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
As Donald and Declan reached the ground floor landing, they heard the voice of Dr. Helene Saunders call from somewhere above them: "A car just crashed southeast of the school! The people inside it need help!"

In the special projects lab-
"So what did you do that stopped them?" asked Diana.

"Well, we did two things," explained Stephanie. "First, we decoded the language of the aliens responsible for the dead rising. We know that they had received signals that emanated from the Earth in that language that apparently told them to commence the attack. Once we were able to understand their language, it was a simple matter to send another signal on the same frequency and vector into space in the aliens' language telling them that the job was done and they could cease the attack. We used your NASA communications project to get the signal into space. This is one of the few facilities that had still been capable of transmitting into space. We have no way of knowing for sure that it worked, but it was the only chance we had. If it did work, then the extraterrestrials will have stopped whatever they were doing to power the reanimation, and the dead should no longer rise up. Those who are already risen are still a threat, however. The second thing we did was use the EMP device on the roof to interfere with the electrical process that reanimates the corpses, thus causing them to fall."

"Like cutting a puppet's strings."

"Exactly! Well, more or less. It covers a decent area in the middle of Omaha, and any of the dead that wander into that area will simply collapse and stop functioning. The EMP is harmless to living people, but it did knock out all electronics within its area of effect." She stopped speaking when she and everyone else in the room heard Dr. Saunders call out. "Oh my God!"

In the lobby-
Kate drew her baton from her belt and took a swing at the door, but it still wouldn't give. The three women could hear the raised voices of Darnell and Jerry Law arguing within.

OOC,[b]Rachel[/b], roll Listen to hear [b]Dr. Saunders[/b] shouting. You may attack the door again, using the same rules. I had forgotten to remind you earlier, but your vest gives you a -5 penalty on all melee attacks, including this one. It has not affected anything so far, but it might.

"It's supposed to be safe outside, right?" Donald double-checked with Declan before deciding to head on out. "These survivors may need more help than the others inside the school."

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
"Those ladies do have guns if they need 'em," said Declan, "but I'm not too keen on letting them face those troublemakers alone and I'm not much good at patching people up - I'm much better with machines. Up to you, I guess."

"Ohhhhh!" grunts Rachel in frustration.

She does hear something.




[Post edited.]

OOC: And what will Michiko do?

Rachel Cohen,[b]Rachel[/b] has a +15 bonus to all Spot Hidden and Listen rolls in her secrets, so she barely succeeds. I'll let you know what else she hears inside the security office when I post my update.

OOC,[b]Michiko[/b] can do whatever she wants. It's entirely up to you.

Michiko decide to stay with the scientist and see if she could help anywhay.

Don nodded, "Alright Declan, you continue with our original plan. See if you can help out at all. I'll see what I can do about the people outside." He turned and started running for the doors.

In the special projects lab-
"I'm on my way!" called Dr. Bernard Smith. Dr. Brigetta Hausmann, Stephanie Bridges, Dr. Liz Somerville, Dr. Edward Singh, Adam Donnelly, Michelle Marquez, and Michiko Watanabe followed him out the door, through the hall, and into the stairwell.

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Dr. Helene Saunders saw the others enter the stairwell. "I need to get back up to the EMP device!" she said.

"I'll take care of that, Doc," said Adam. "You get down there and help those people."

Helene nodded and raced downstairs.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Declan raced south, into the hallway while Donald pushed open the fire exit and hurried outside. Dr. Saunders came down from above.

In the rear parking lot-
Donald made his way outside, into the parking lot behind the school. He starred running and was not far from the northeast corner. Once he rounded it, he should be able to see the crashed car.

In the lobby-
Erica slammed into the door again, which shuddered and nearly gave. Kate smacked the door once more, but without effect.

Rachel Cohen,[b]Rachel[/b] could hear the sounds of a scuffle from inside the security office. [b]Darnell[/b] said "This one is for my baby and my future kid you asshole" right before a pair of sickening crunches, and then [b]Jerry Law[/b] shouted "You are no better than those zombies! You are the true cancer of this society!" This was followed by another loud cracking sound.

OOC,[b]Rachel[/b], you may attack the door again.

Run run run...

[Kick 88%]

"Oh no! Darnell is up to no good inside.
"C'mon girls, the door will give way soon."

In the special projects lab-
"We'll continue this discussion when they return, said Lawrence Adler. "In the meantime, I'll open the floor to suggestions."

In the north stairwell, upper floor-
Adam Donnelly ran upstairs to the roof while Michelle Marquez led the group of scientists and Michiko downstairs.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Michelle reached the ground floor landing first, the others right behind her. Dr. Saunders had already bolted out the back door, which was swinging shut.

In the rear parking lot-
Dr. Helene Saunders ran out the door and started heading east. Donald ran around the corner and out of her sight.

OOC,[b]Donald Woodridge[/b] is moving to the following thread. Please stop reading the current thread at this point, and do not read the posts in the new thread above the one in the link.

Secrets

In the north hall, ground floor-
Declan hurried through the hall and into the lobby.

In the lobby-
Erica hit the door again, harder than ever. It broke, but for some reason it didn't fall down. As Declan ran in, Kate tried to put her shoulder into the door, but hit the wall next to it by mistake. Then the door collapsed outward with a thud. Heather was standing on the other side, pulling a damaged chair away from it. The women couldn't see much past her. All of the action had apparently been inside the office, around the corner.

In the security office-
The door broke under the impact of the repeated blows, but the chair kept it from falling in. Heather ran over to the door and dragged the chair away. The door collapsed outward, revealing Kate, Erica, and Rachel on the other side. Kate was holding her baton in one hand.

"Why didn't you kill me?" asked Kyle, confused.

"Yeah, why didn't you kill him?" said Roy.

"Cause I am not a murderer and because I think that my girlfriend still loves you and if she does not wish to be with me anymore at least my baby will have a good father. Of course I still wish to be with her but...."

Law will take his weapon.

Rachel whispers to Kate, "Is Darnell serious about Kyle? - he wanted to tear him limb from limb earlier! Whatever, those two need to be kept apart."

Darnell refuses to give up his weapons to anyone.

In the special projects lab-
"What about the rest of the city?" asked Diana. "How will we find out what's going on out there?"

"Officer Kate Wheeler is planning to go to the local police station to find out exactly that," said Principal Adler. "She's busy at the moment, but hopefully she'll be back soon. She's going to want volunteers to go with her. Hopefully the police survived and will be able to help restore order in Omaha."

"I'd like to go with her," said Kelly Cameron. "I like her."

On the roof-
Adam Donnelly emerged onto the roof and looked over the EMP device quickly. It was still humming and running normally. He could see the Mustang to the southeast, and was relieved that things didn't look as bad as they could have been.

In the north stairwell, ground floor-
Michelle pushed open the door and stepped outside. "Follow me," she said. Michiko and the scientists complied.

In the rear parking lot-
Michelle, Michiko, and the scientists got outside just in time to see Dr. Saunders vanish around the northeast corner. "Better prop open the door," said Dr. Singh. "We'll need to be able to get back inside afterwards." He slid a trash can into place to keep the fire exit from closing and locking automatically.

In the lobby-
Erica, Kate, and Declan followed Rachel into the security office.

In the security office-
Heather backed away as the new arrivals pushed their way in, rounding the corner and forming a phalanx to prevent anyone from slipping past them. What they saw shocked them. Kyle was lying semiconscious in one of the cells, the door wide open. His bleeding had stopped thanks to Darnell's intervention, but he had clearly been near death judging by the puddle of his own blood in which he lay. In the other cell, which was also open, Chuck Lubachek lay stone dead in a similar, though larger, pool of blood. One of his legs had been brutally smashed and broken at the hip with extreme force. Doug hung back, cradling his injured arm. Jerry Law stood in the middle of the room, holding his nightstick. Darnell and Roy stood side by side nearby, both clutching their bloody baseball bats and refusing to drop them.

The horrors Erica had seen already failed to inure her against this display of brutality. She shuddered when she saw the corpse. "My God, how could you do this?!" she cried. "What is wrong with you?"

Declan had seen an awful lot of awful things in his many years, and he managed to keep it together. "Young people these days," he said, shaking his head.

Kate felt a deep revulsion, but this was not the first dead body she had seen in her line of work. She glared angrily at Darnell and Roy, brandishing her nighstick in one hand and pulling out her pepper spray in the other. "You are both under arrest for murder!" she shouted. "You will drop your weapons! NOW!"

"No way!" said Roy. "You can't do this to us! I'm a hero! You should be thanking us for doing you a favor!"

OOC,[b]Rachel[/b], roll Sanity for seeing the body. Sanity loss is 0/1d3. Then you may act.

"It was Doug who killed Chuck before either one of us had a chance. He stole the keys of Law there. Sure we hurt Kyle but only to teach him a lesson. I saved his life. I will not be arrested for murder since I have not killed anyone. If you wish to try you may but I gurantee I will not go quietly and I will take some of you with me if you make a move against me."

In the security office-
"That's a damn lie!" protested Doug. "I didn't lay a finger on nobody! It was Roy who killed Chuck, and he and Darnell tried to kill Kyle! Just look at the blood on their bats. I don't even have a weapon! And Heather has the keys, not me!"

"Hey, I didn't do a thing!" said Heather. "I even opened the door to let them in!"

"How stupid do you think we are?" said Kate. "I'm taking you in. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will 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. Now drop your weapons and come along peacefully, or we will use whatever force is necessary!"

Erica began to advance on Darnell first.

OOC,We're in combat now. [b]Darnell[/b], you have the highest DEX, so you get to go first. You also need to decide now who you're going to try to parry this round. [b]Jerry[/b] and [b]Rachel[/b] don't need to decide yet, since they have Martial Arts. You may only try to parry one attack per round. If the person you choose to parry does not attack you, or misses, or attacks you in such a way that no parry is possible, then your parry is wasted.

[OOC,Sanity 59% (1d100=89) Sanity loss (1d3=1)]
Rachel suffers a twinge of horror.

"Don't do it, Darnell! Roy! Give up."

Darnell said, "Your not sending me to jail when you would not even send Kyle to jail bitch. Come and get me!" He blocked an attempt with his baseball bat on Erica hitting him and struck her hard with the bat. He did some pretty good damage on Erica.

In the security office-
Erica tried to jump back when Darnell swung at her before she could attack, but she was too slow. The wooden bat struck her square in the head, sending her reeling but failing to bring her down. She was no longer in a good position to attack, but she started to unsling the M-16 from her back to point it at Darnell.

"Yeah!" said Heather. "Like, go down, bitch!" She swung her fist at Erica in an effort to knock her out, her blow on target, and again Erica failed to get out of the way. It was a moderately strong blow that took her in the right leg. While Erica was tough, the beating was enough to send her sprawling to the floor, unconscious.

Then Roy handed his bat to Doug and darted forward quickly before Rachel could react, snatching up Erica with one arm and looping it around her neck tightly. With the other, he took the M-16. "Everyone back off and let us out!" he shouted. "Drop your weapons! Nobody try anything! Don't make me break her neck!"

OOC,[b]Rachel[/b], it's your turn to act now. Those with DEX 13 go after you do. [b]Jerry[/b] will then get to go on DEX 12. [b]Darnell[/b], you've already acted this round, so you don't get to act again yet. I'll let you know when it's your turn again.

Hand hovering by her pistol holster: "We aren't going to throw in the towel. There will be shooting, someone will die.
"Get out of the school; leave Erica; take the M-16."

Mr. Handy,Can Rachel tell if the gun is ready to fire? - Safety catch, whatever? (Personally, I wouldn't know how to fire a gun.)

In the security office-
Declan stood stock still, unsure of what to do at this point. Kyle lay moaning on the floor of his cell.

Rachel Cohen,The M-16 is not quite ready to fire. [b]Erica[/b] never had a chance to disengage the safety, and [b]Roy[/b] wouldn't really be able to fire it one-handed. However, he could very easily follow through on his threat to snap her neck.

OOC,[b]Jerry Law[/b], it's your turn to act now.

In the special projects lab-
"Anyone who wants to go with Officer Wheeler will be free to do so," said Adler. "Keep in mind that you'll miss at least part of tonight's dinner celebration."

"I'm curious to find out what's going on out there too," said Diana, "but I don't want to miss the dinner. I guess Kate will tell us what happened when she gets back."

On the roof-
Adam headed over to the southeast corner of the roof, where he could see the car and the injured people below. Dr. Saunders was visible approaching the vehicle, and the scientists weren't that far behind her.

In the rear parking lot-
The scientists, Michelle, and Michiko all ran around the northeast corner, following Dr. Saunders.

In the construction area-
As the scientists and those with them entered the construction area, they could see a somewhat battered 1965 Ford Mustang resting not far from the southeast corner of the school building. It looked like it had torn a large hole in the fence. Its occupants were clearly badly injured, but most of them were conscious, if a bit bloody. Dr. Helene Saunders ran ahead to help them.

Outside the school-
As Dr. Saunders arrived, she could see that Emilio was in the driver's seat, leaning over to the shotgun seat and helping Tiny, who was in Emily's lap. Donald Woodridge was helping Emily, who was just coming to her senses. Keith sat in the back seat, and an unfamiliar Chinese-looking teenager was next to him, still unconscious.

"Geez, what happened?!" asked Dr. Saunders.

"I was going to ask that," muttered Emily. "Where's my son? Is he all right?" She glared at Emilio. "You're fixing this car, on your own time. And you're not allowed to drive any more."

"Let me look at the kid in the back," said Dr. Saunders. "I'm an astrophysicist, not a medical doctor, but I'll do what I can. The real docs are not far behind me," She pointed north to the construction site.

In the security office-
Kate held herself back and nodded in agreement with Rachel's terms. Doug led the way past them and around the corner. "Let's blow this joint, mon," he said as he headed to the lobby, still clutching the bat and looking as if he were daring anyone to get in his way.

OOC,It's [b]Darnell[/b]'s turn to act first now, as a new round has started. Combat may be over, depending on how things unfold.

Darnell said, "Roy and Heather lets go now!" He pushed past the group blocking the way.

In the security office-
Heather took the M-16 from Roy and flicked off the safety, covering the adults while Roy dragged Erica past them. "She stays with us until we're safely away," said Roy. "Nobody try to follow us - or else! Everyone stay in this room for at least five minutes." He hauled Erica around the corner, followed by Heather, who walked backwards, still pointing the assault rifle into the security office as she retreated to dissaude anyone from coming after them.

OOC,[b]Rachel[/b] and [b]Jerry[/b], you may both act freely now. Combat is over provided neither of you tries to stop or follow them. Both of you roll Listen. You may also attempt a First Aid roll if you wish to try to treat [b]Kyle[/b]'s injuries. If one of you succeeds, he gains 1d3 HP. He only has one untreated injury, so if one of you succeeds, the other can't help any further.

[OOC, Listen 27% (1d100=9)]

"Those scum will do as they say and leave Erica, I hope."

As soon as they are out of sight Rachel will follow them.

OOC,[b]Erica[/b], [b]Darnell[/b], [b]Heather[/b], [b]Roy[/b], and [b]Doug[/b] are moving to the following thread.

Wild in the Streets

OOC,Everyone else is moving to the following thread.

Another Fine Mess