IC-SWORD-Terror By Night(Sally/Zoe/Raquel/Katarina/rangers)

[ryansommer]

"Thank goodness you guys are okay" Sally said as she exited the woods and approached the others. "We should get back to the safety of the ranger station while we discuss what to do next. All of the commotion could have attracted some wanderers."

[Mr. Handy]

In the woods-
"Yeah, we'd better step on it," said Julie. She pulled out and turned to the left, heading back towards the ranger station.

Outside the ranger station-
Sally and Katarina leaned on each other as they walked back to the ranger station, meeting Zoe and Dan at the base of the stairs. They saw that Zoe now had on a red strapless dress and one of the skinheads' utility belts around her waist. She had also been splattered with blood, but she did not seem hurt - not physically, anyway. Katarina, on the other hand, was walking with a slight limp and had a few bruises. Sally looked no worse off than she had before, but that broken leg was slowing her down and causing her pain.

"The problem is that they didn't get blown away," said Dan. "They're still out there, and now they've got Lara." He pulled out his radio and spoke into it. "Julie, they got away in the van. We're outside the ranger station with Sally and Katarina."

"Zoe!" cried Katarina, hobbling over to Zoe and hugging her. "I'm so sorry, Zoe. We tried to stop them, but they got away." She glanced to the south, in the direction that the van had left. "At least I kill Mutt."

The green pickup truck came out of the woods from the southwest and pulled to a halt in front of the station. Julie was behind the wheel, and Raquel sat in the shotgun seat, with space for another person between them in the cab of the truck.

"Shh!" said Katarina, hearing something clearly. She pointed to the north, and Sally's warning proved prophetic. "Someone's walking this way, slowly. They real close now."

OOC,Everyone may roll Spot Hidden at 1/5 skill to see if you can spot whoever it is before they arrive. Only two people may make it up the stairs to the balcony this round. If too many people want to try, those with higher DEX will make it up first, with anyone who doesn't left on the ground to try again next round. [b]Julie[/b] and [b]Raquel[/b] cannot make it up the stairs this turn, as they are still in the pickup truck. If they get out this turn, they can head upstairs on the turn after.

Sally,[b]Sally[/b] felt a sudden twinge in her stomach as it cramped up.

[ryansommer]

Since she was at the stairs, Sally began moving up them as quickly as she could while she unsuccessfully scanned the area for the threat. . 'Hurry! Get into the ranger station" she said.

[Tabs]

"The problem is that they didn't get blown away," said Dan.

"Which is why I was so bloody annoyed at Lara for botching the execution -- she doesn't deserve to be rescued!"

[ooc: Spot Hidden 1/5 (1d100=47)]

"C'mon Katerina, you're next up the stairs." Zoe readies a grenade.

[Trott]

Raquel peered out into the darkness from the passenger seat

[Mr. Handy]

Outside the ranger station-
"Don't say that about Lara!" said Katarina. "She's my friend, and we have to save her!" She gasped when she saw Zoe take out a grenade. "You can't use that, it's too close!" It was too dark for her to see who or what was approaching, but she hastened up the stairs with Sally.

Dan readied his AK-47, but he couldn't see a target yet either. "Julie, you drive Raquel down the road to safety! Zoe, let's get upstairs!"

Julie couldn't see what was coming, but she pulled out and drove a short distance south down the road.

Then the zombie walked into the circle of light cast by the ranger station, coming out of the north and heading for Dan and Zoe. Dan kept his wits about him. In the pickup truck further south, Julie also saw it in the rear view mirror, and she began to shake, terror gripping her heart. The true horror of her situation began to sink in, and she slammed on the brakes and looked at Raquel in shock. The truck swerved and a tire blew out.

OOC,[b]Raquel[/b], you do not need to roll Sanity. Due to your critical failure at your Spot Hidden roll, you do not actually see the zombie yet. [b]Zoe[/b], roll Sanity for seeing the zombie. Sanity loss is 0/1d10. If you do not go temporarily insane, you may act. The zombie is about five yards from you, so the range is normal, and it may attack this round if you don't flee. If you use the grenade, you and [b]Dan[/b] will be caught in the blast radius. If you choose to flee, roll DEX x 5. If that fails, roll Dodge just in case.

On the balcony-
Sally and Katarina helped each other to the top of the stairs and reached the baclony.

OOC,[b]Sally[/b], you will see the zombie later this round, so you should roll Sanity for seeing it. Sanity loss is 0/1d10. Assuming you don't go temporarily insane, you may act. Range is normal, and there is no darkness penalty since it's in the light. However, if you fire and miss, you must roll Luck for each bullet that misses to avoid hitting someone living unless both [b]Dan[/b] and [b]Zoe[/b] both manage to flee successfully, as the zombie will reach the base of the stairs by the time you can shoot at it.

[Trott]

Raquel looked at Julie in terror.

"What is it? Is something there?"

She gripped the inside door handle and looked for the lock.

[Tabs]

ooc/Sanity rolls/Flee,Sanity: [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2572574/]1d100=68[/url] Sanity loss: [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2572580/]1d10=3[/url] DEX 14, [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2572581/]DEX x5 (1d100=60)[/url]

Zoe scrambles up the steps.

ooc/grenade,Once triggered, how long does it take for the grenade to explode?

[ryansommer]

Gasped at the sight of the zombie, but held it together. She raises her gun and fires two shots at it's head. Her first shot missed and the gun jammed on the second shot. Luckily the shot did not hit Dan or Zoe. "Shit!" Sally exclaimed.

[Mr. Handy]

On the road-
"What is it?" said Julie. "Is something there?"

The pickup truck coasted to a stop about 50 yards south of the ranger station. Raquel easily found the lock and could open the door and get out any time she wanted to - but did she?

Outside the ranger station-
Dan waited until Zoe started up the stairs before following her.

On the balcony-
Katarina barely kept her fears in check when the zombie reached the base of the stairs. Sally's first bullet struck it in the head, doing massive damage and dropping it to all fours. Still, it crawled on. Sally's second shot caused Felice's pistol to jam. Once Dan was out of the line of fire, Katarina took a shot, but she missed badly. She was so unused to firearms that the recoil of her second shot caused her to lose her grip, and the pistol tumbled off of the balcony to the ground below! "Oh, no..." she moaned.

OOC,[b]Sally[/b], your first shot actually hit because of that bonus you get, and I rolled 9 for damage. Any hit to the zombie's head will now kill it, so there's no need to roll for damage if you're shooting at the head. If you want to try to unjam the pistol, you'll need to roll Handgun. If you succeed, roll 1d6 for the number of combat rounds it will take you. You may instead switch to one of your .45 pistols and fire that instead. [b]Zoe[/b], if you want to use a grenade, roll Throw. It will detonate a few seconds after you pull the pin and release it, so it will go off this round. It could destroy the stairs, which may or may not be a good thing. It could also damage or destroy the wooden supports at the corners of the ranger station, which is definitely a bad thing. If you throw a grenade, roll Luck, whether you hit or not. You may instead draw a weapon and fire one shot, but remember that your Shotgun skill would be halved because it's very awkward to use a long gun with your hands cuffed together.

[ryansommer]

Handy,Shoot. I had forgotten about the bonus. Thanks!

Sally dropped the jamed gun and drew her .45. She took aim and pulled the trigger. The round exploded from the chamber of the pistol and blasted away the zombies head. I lay at the end of the stairs, unmoving.
"Quickly, let's get back on the roof and discuss what to do next." Sally said. She scooped up the jammed pistol and moved inside.

[Tabs]

Zoe wrinkles her nose when the zombie's head comes off:
"Nice shot!"
She follows Sally.

[Trott]

Raquel turned to Julie, putting a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

"Julie, are you feeling okay?"

[Mr. Handy]

On the road-
"Julie, are you feeling okay?" echoed Julie.

Dan's voice spoke from her radio: "Julie, are you all right? You can come on back now, we took care of it."

"Julie, are you all right?" said Julie. "You can come on back now, we took care of it." She was simply copying whatever anyone else said.

In the ranger station-
Zoe was easily able to move past Sally. Three quarters of the station were taken up by the main L-shaped room. An interior door, which was open, led to another room that occupied the last quarter. There was also a trapdoor in the ceiling of the main room that was currently open, and a ladder led up to the roof. Near the door was a desk with a shortwave radio, currently crackling with static. A closed locker stood beside the desk. In the back was a table and chairs. Zoe reached the ladder first, where she climbed up to the roof.

On the balcony-
"I'm going to go make sure Julie and Raquel are okay," said Dan. He hurried down the stairs, speaking into his radio. "Julie, are you all right? You can come on back now, we took care of it."

"I go get my gun back," said Katarina. She went downstairs with him. "We need to hurry and save Lara! The longer we wait, the further away they get and the more time they have to hurt her!"

"I'll do my best to rescue her, I promise. But we have to make sure everyone here is okay first, and come up with a plan. Otherwise we won't do her any good."

Outside the ranger station-
Katarina and Dan reached the bottom of the stairs, gingerly stepping over the messy corpse at the bottom.

[Tabs]

Zoe climbs on to the roof and waits for Sally to join her, she says:
"How do I get inside the station? And is there a workshop or somethin', so that I can remove these cuffs?"

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,Sorry, I forgot to describe the ranger station since it hadn't occurred to me that you'd never been inside it. I edited my post above with a description. The ladder is actually inside the station, so you were already inside. If you'd rather stay down there and do something else instead of climbing up the ladder, you may.

[ryansommer]

Sally moves inside an climbs the ladder to the roof.

[Tabs]

"Shall we barricade ourselves inside, Sally, what do you think? I'm gonna have a good look-see around the station and after play with the radio."

[Trott]

Raquel took Julie's radio, and tried to reply to Dan.

"Dan, it's Raquel. Something is wrong with Julie. I don't know what though. What's going on out there?"

[Mr. Handy]

Outside the ranger station-
"Go get Sally," said Dan when he heard Raquel's voice on the radio. He took out his own radio as he ran south down the road, speaking into it. "I'm on my way! Everything's fine over here now. Sally took care of the infected guy."

Katarina bent down to retrieve her dropped gun, then hurried back upstairs.

In the ranger station-
Zoe opened up the locker and looked inside. A variety of supplies were in there, including a large axe. While someone else could use it to break the chain holding her handcuffs together, it would not be without risk. A badly mistimed swing could chop her arm instead!

Katarina burst into the station. "Sally!" she called. "Something's wrong with Julie, and Dan needs your help!"

On the roof-
Sally had just reached the top of the ladder when she heard Katarina call from below.

On the road-
"Dan, it's Raquel," said Julie. "Something is wrong with Julie. I don't know what though. What's going on out there?"

Raquel saw Dan racing up to the driver's side of the pickup truck.