Caitlin searched her mind for anywhere else they could go; until then, the ranch had been the one escape and now that seemed like it was going to be a lost hold-out. "How long could we make it on the move?"
Jake Bell weighed the information provided by Tricia...
She's claiming there is still around 100 skinheads at the Scobey compound. He thought. So much for the crazies thinning their numbers, as Clyde speculated earlier....and what if they hook up with the other skins Lara escaped from...?
He remembered the M16's the three riders were carrying before riding back west...
If they came back in numbers, we wouldn't stand a chance....
He liked Lara's fire and fight..but this may be a losing battle. A heavy weight descended on his heart. He hated to leave the ranch and even the animals he had grown accustomed to fighting with during the daily chores day after day....
He wished Clyde was at the house to help with the decision but he was still fuelling the truck...
He listened to the others as they spoke...
Sven: (To Tricia then Jake)
"They might not leave the rest of us alone even if you did go with them. We've already defied them, so they might want to make an example of us. And now they've seen that there are other women here. The truck we came in is already loaded up with water, food, and other supplies from Caitlin's farm. Loading more supplies from your ranch into your own vehicles would help too if we have to make a run for it. But where would we go?"
Caitlin: (...Apparently wanting answers in general)
"How long could we make it on the move?"
Jake heard the others and had to make a call...
"You..." Pointing at Sven "Run out to Clyde and give him a hand filling whatever jerry cans we have with gas and load them into the truck. We're going to have to leave!"
"I'm going to get the Civic out of the barn and pull it around to load up."
He addressed the women. "The rest of you...grab what we need for supplies. I'll bring the car around. We can travel east from here along Highway 5. We'll carry through Flaxville, without stopping, after what we've seen yesterday, and can move east to Plentywood. Along the way, we can check the small communities...Navajo, Redstone.....for supplies...Then we can look at North Dakota in two different directions...Or even Canada....."
Jake trailed off then mustered up the strength he could to instill confidence in the others...
"Maybe, in a larger center, we will find others trying to survive what we are trying to as well...."
He stopped Caitlin....
"Can you check the radio...or the "Social Media" to see what anyone is saying.." Jake was admittedly ignorant of what the young kids were into. "Maybe see if there's any word of a safe place available for us to go to..."
Jake sprung into action but the thought of losing what he had built up, in terms of a life and the ranch...family....was a hard pill to swallow....
OCC,I'm sure the ranch has jerry cans for gas..if not we have a shabby operation :D
Caitlin nodded. She went to where the truck was being fuelled and hopped in, turning the battery on once they had finished and clicked on the radio, scanning the stations for anything that sounded like information.
Outside the barn-
While Clyde refueled the pickup truck, Sven gathered six jerry cans from inside the barn. Each one would hold enough for half a tank of gas for one of the vehicles, though the tractor ran on diesel. Jake brought the Civic and then the pickup truck out and parked them near the pump. Caitlin tried all of the radio stations, but all she got was static.
"I stayed on the air for as long as I could," said Sven, "but even I had to go off and make a run for it eventually. I don't think anyone's still broadcasting any more, at least not around these parts. There's been no Internet connection since early yesterday morning either."
Mary, Veronica, Tricia, and Lara gathered water and nonperishable food, as well as what medical supplies they could find in the house, and loaded them into the Civic and the Bell family's pickup truck. Everyone was very organized under Jake's direction, and by the time Clyde had finished filling up the pickup's tank about fifteen minutes later, they had gathered enough to fill the back of the other pickup and the Civic's trunk, leaving only enough space for the jerry cans. However, there was only one manual gas pump, so the jerry cans could not be filled until after Clyde finished with the pickup. The other vehicles' tanks were already close to full.
OOC,Only two of the men had M16s. The leader had a pistol and a saber.
It will take about another 45 minutes to fill all of the jerry cans.
Outside the barn-
"Cell service went out at the same time the Internet did," said Tricia. "Landlines still worked the last I checked, which was yesterday, but I don't know if there'll be anyone on the other end."
Caitlin was becoming increasingly irate regarding the lack of contact with anyone outside. "What about CB's? Could there be some emergency signal going out?"
Outside the barn-
"CBs do work," said Clyde, "but there's no emergency signal or anything like that. We heard some chatter yesterday, mostly panicked people who didn't know what to do, but nothing so far this morning."
Jake Bell assisted Mary, Veronica, Tricia and Lara with the loading of supplies into the vehicles after pulling the Civic around. Once they had finished loading what they could, he observed Clyde's progress...
It's going to take about 45 minutes for him to fill those jerry cans but we need them... He thought. Who knows what we'll find in terms of fuel once we leave...
He heard the chatter between Clyde, Tricia and the others about communication from the outside but he had other things on his mind....
He had to establish a watch...
"I'm going to establish a watch for the skins! Clyde keeping filling those jerry cans!" He nodded towards his son... "Once I spot them, we're out of here, regardless of what we have filled up for extra fuel! We have three vehicles here so it doesn't matter how we divide up, there being 8 of us and enough room for all. I'm going to take a watch and, heaven forbid, we have enough time...."
The Watch,IIRC - All the vehicles are at the barn, which is on the west side of the ranch, 50 yrds from the ranch house (which is to the east)....
If this barn has an upper story and an opening, I will climb up there and keep watch to the west, the direction the skins last rode away in, and whatever other direction I can see. If I can view multiple directions, I'll take someone with me to cover those directions. If we can, I will take a second person regardless and try to punch a view hole in the wood of the barn wall facing other directions to make sure we are not surprised.
Even without binoculars, we should be able to see dust on the horizon from multiple riders, especially a great number. We will continue to fill the jerry cans but, if we see anyone approaching, we will immediately leave!
If the barn does not have an upper story, I will have to retire to the farmhouse and view from there...In this case, I definitely take someone with me to cover the other views. Since the farmhouse is on the way out of the ranch (exit to the north IIRC), we can alert the others and be picked up....Let me know if this plan is legit..?! Thanks!
Outside the barn- Veronica went into the barn with Jake, while Clyde and Sven worked together to fill the jerry cans at the pump. Mary, Caitlin, and Lara remained with the vehicles near the pump.
In the barn- Jake and Veronica climbed the ladder inside the barn to the loft. There were large, wide openings looking out to the north and south, but they were able to create small holes in the west and east walls with a wood axe kept in the barn. The first fifteen minutes of the watch went smoothly and without incident. By this time, two of the jerry cans had been filled below.
OOC,[b]Jake[/b], please roll Spot Hidden. The base skill is 25%.
Spot Hidden Roll,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3392251/]Wow! Not even close lol... :roll:[/url]
I'll continue about my business, observing mostly to the west. I'll also remind Veronica to mention any thing suspicious she might see, no matter how small it may be...
In the barn-
While Veronica was looking out to the west, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. "Papa Bell!" she said. "I see someone approaching on foot from the west, on the road. Still a long ways off, and I can't make out any detail, but it's just one guy."
Jake Bell instinctively ran over to Veronica and took a look, but her report was accurate and his old eyes were no better....
Damn fool... Jake scolded himself.. ..Like I would make out more. Could be another survivor or even one of the infected...Hard to tell...
Mr. Handy,Do we have binoculars available on the farm? If we do, I'll have to send Mary to retrieve them as we need Clyde to keep filling the jerry cans. If not, we'll have to wait it out until the lone figure gets close enough to get a read on who or what he is...
In the barn- Jake and Veronica waited as the figure walked closer. As it approached, it became apparent that the person was male, dressed in blue denim overalls. But it wasn't until he was fifty yards away that they could see the angry red of his eyes - a sure sign of infection! Veronicacalmly raised her shotgun and took aim. She fired, but the buckshot spread too wide at that range.
OOC,No, there are no binoculars.
[b]Jake[/b], please roll Sanity for seeing the zombie. Sanity loss is 0/1d10, so you lose no Sanity if you make the roll or 1d10 if you fail. If you lose 5 or more Sanity, you must roll Idea. Failing that roll means you may act freely. Succeeding at the Idea roll means you go temporarily insane.
If you stay sane, you may take a shot at the zombie. It is within your base range (barely), so you use your full skill. The only penalty is the -5 for aiming at the head if you choose to do so, which is recommended. If you hit, go ahead and roll damage for your carbine (2d6).
Crouching at the blast from above, Lara watches the walker go down. She stays put and scans for more incoming visitors. If they were not coming before, they might have picked up on the gun fire.
Anyway, she decides to investigate the walker more closely. He was quite dead - with the head blown off. There might be something worth scavenging while the others prepped the cars.
OOC:
Spoiler:
Different approach, same outcome . Glad to be back, guess it´s hard to let old acquaintances go.
Jake kept his rifle near shoulder height, pointing it in the direction of the prone walker, in case it was playing possum...
He squinted and scanned the horizon.
"Veronica, we have to keep an eye out and your eyes are better. Keep watching the horizon and check the other directions. I'll watch here" He spoke calmly to his daughter-in-law.
He leaned forward to the opening to help his voice carry in the cool, morning air...
"Clyde! How many more cans do you have to go?" He shouted out, hoping to get the attention of his son...
OOC,No problem SSior.27..We understand and congrats from me as well! :D
. Glad to be back, guess it´s hard to let old acquaintances go.