Robert Valentine (Dr.Peterson)

[Priest]

'When there is no more room in hell' (Week 1; Act 0.1)

Officer Robert Valentine, Wake County Sheriff’s Department

Carefully you move position on the porch roof, just a couple more shingles and it’s finished. Then a couple of jobs on the bedroom and everything’s ready for Andrea’s return from the hospital.

From within the kitchen you can hear the monotone of that new presenter WRAL-TV News has just recruited. His delivery is so bad, he could spoil the second coming, he has a way of firing statistics and such in a way that makes them instantly forgettable; no, WRAL-TV made a bad choice there.

Amidst all the hammering and changing of position making hearing difficult you guess he’s reporting on that flu outbreak that seems to be dominating both the local and National news at the moment. The last advice you had heard was some doctor advising you to take a couple of aspirins and go to bed, but that was this morning and this epidemic, as they were calling it, seemed to change quicker than a Chameleon on heat.

“Hi Bob”
Looking over the fence from your vantage point on the porch roof, you see the familiar, if worried, face of your neighbour Sam Lacey.
“Hi Sam, what’s up?”
“Just heard from Steph that something weird is going on at the hospital. It seems the place has just been taken over by the military authorities, and no ones getting in or out.” Sam pulls his battered Carolina Panthers cap from his head and scratches his hair.
“Must be somit to do with that flu epidemic the news is full of”
For a moment you consider what he is saying, Andrea is in the hospital where Sam’s daughter Steph works as a nurse so if anything weird is going down you need to know. But if anything major was happening your buddies on the force would have told you, given you the heads up, surely.

“Just thought I’d let you know”
He replaces the cap and turns towards his back door, then stops,
“Oh, by the way in case you hadn’t heard the Parkinson’s down at 43 have been quarantined seems they have that flu virus. Probably couldn’t go to the hospital, what with the military taking charge and so on, so they’ve locked themselves in to sweat it out”
With that he continues through his door into the house.

No sooner had Sam departed then the phone rang, damn you thought spitting the roofing nails you had just put between you lips back into the box. With your foot you reached for the top of the stepladder only to hear the answer phone kick in. Someone was leaving a message, it might be important so you begin to slowly climb down from the porch. Then your cell phone begins its tune, you listen as a pre recorded voice tells you.

“In response to the developing situation within the city of Raleigh and its environs, all leave for state security personnel has been cancelled. All personnel have been ordered to report with immediate effect to their nearest office for assignment”

Through the window of your kitchen you can see the TV. You see film of parts of the city in flames as lines of heavily armed police fire tear gas canisters into a slow moving mass of civilians.

You reach through the window and grab a ring of keys from a peg, house keys, garage keys, key to your truck and one to your gun safe where you keep your pistol and a box of spare ammunition.
You have no idea what’s happening but it doesn’t look good and all you can hear is Sam’s voice saying, “something weird is going on at the hospital” the hospital where Andrea is…

[DrPeterson]

Robert quickly runs upstairs to change into his uniform. He runs a hand over his chin and can't help but feel happy he shaved this morning.
He sits on his bed to tie his laces and then takes out his gun, loading six bullets into the well-greased chamber and holstering the piece.
He puts on his coat and hat, picks up the box of spare bullets and heads downstairs.



Robert casts another quick glance at the burning city on the television and then turns it off and heads out to the garage, balancing a cup of coffee on the bullet box.

He gets into his truck, putting the coffee in the cup hold and he stares at the bullet box.

Robert Valentine thinking:   Now why the hell did I bring that along?

He shoves the box under his seat and hits the remote for the garage doors as he starts his engine. He drinks some coffee as he waits for the gate to open and then heads out onto the street, his radio on and his two way radio switched to the Sheriff's Dept. frequency.

"This is Valentine, on my way to the office on Salisbury Street. What's going on out there, guys?"

Salisbury street was near enough to be an okay destination, but close enough to the hospital to allow a drive-by.

[Priest]

For a moment there is no reply, just the hiss and crackle of static. Then the familiar voice of Mike Reece comes from the set,
"Hey Bob, thought you were on leave? Still I guess none of us have leave any more. Officially I'm to tell you that you are to report to Central for re assignment, but unofficially I'm telling you there aint no central any more we lost contact with that a while back. The situation is shit. Something wierd is happening people are being attacked at random by, I don't know what. You shoot these perps and they simply take the bullet and get right on back to what they were doing..."

For a few moments the signal was lost in a burst of static that sounded like gunfire,
"Sorry about that. Look we can't hold them so were pulling back to Kennedy Plaza, if you can make it, see you there. But Bob, get Andrea first, get her safe..."

The radio goes dead...

[DrPeterson]

Robert smiles, glad to hear Mike's voice.

"Mike! So good to hear you."

He furrows his brow as he takes in the report.

"What? Is it an attack? The Chinese? Mike?"

He fidgets with the buttons of the receiver until he hears Mike again.

"Listen, I'm picking up Andrea first and then I'm coming to the Plaza."

"Mike? Mike? Damn it!"

Robert cinematically shifts gear and kicks down on the gas pedal. Glancing at the Parkinson's place as he tears past.

OOC:   If he has one of those cool sirens and stick-to-rooftop lights in his civilian car, he'll use them too, for added cinematics

[Priest]

You notice that the curtains are still tightly drawn inthe parkinsons house, and that todays copy of the newspaper still rests on the porch floor where it had been tossed by the nepaper boy.

With your sirens blaring and the emergency lights flashing you coast the pick up to a halt outside the hospital front doors.

Something looks odd. The doors with their black sun reflective glass stand wide and in the emergency car park just outside three ambulances, their back doors flung open, wait beside four heavy duty military trucks.
You see no sign of staff either hospital or military, thinking about it you hadn't seen any people for some time now.
As you look closer you notice that several of the windows on various floors look smashed. In fact on the third you can see half closed blinds poking beyond the window testiment to the lack of glass.
Strange, you think, the rooms are all environmentaly controlled the windows are not designed to be opened either something had gone wrong with the aircon or there was trouble.

Looking real hard at the window with the blinds you see, or think you see;

Andrea's room is on third.

You flick the switch on your dash that kills the horns and lights, now the only thing that disturbs the silence of the hospital building is the rumble of the pick ups engine...

[DrPeterson]

Robert kills the engine and gets out of the car, checking his belt to see if he's got everything there, including, 2 quick-loaders of spare ammo.

He approaches the hospital cautiously, casting a glance up to the third floor every now and then, checking to see if the figure is still there or if he can see movement in Andrea's room.

Perception check (5!),[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4267856/]perception (1d6=5, 1d6=4)[/url]

[Priest]

As you move towards the main entrance there is no movement to attract your attention. Now with no engine noise the silence is almost deafening the caw of a lone crow makes you jump.

As you had noted before the double doors are open and the corridor beyond empty. The only sound you can hear within the hospital is a buzz of strip lighting and a distant dinging sound, like the sound elevator doors make when they open. A sound that goes on and on but without direction.

Several yards inside the corridor is an untended enquiries desk. A desk top strip light leans at a drunken angle its light directed on a solitary pool of blood which from its semi congealed nature had been there a while.
On the desk top amidst a pile of papers a solitary plastic vending machine cup lies on its side its contents now just a drying stain. Next to it you see a telephone its handset partially lifted as if carelessly replaced.

Of the military presence that Sam’s daughter Steph had spoke of there is no sign other than the four trucks parked outside…

[DrPeterson]

Robert Valentine thinking:   Where is everyone?

Robert avoids stepping in the puddle and he makes for the dinging sound coming from elevators. He is looking around for any signs of military intervention, bullet holes, empty shells, grenade pins, blast marks, empty flashbang cartridges,... As he moves forward, he slowly draws the .45 and unlocks the safety.

[Priest]

All seems oddly quiet, other than the annoying ding of the elevator the only sound you hear is your footsteps, and the too loud click of your .45s safety being released.
Of any expected hospital noises, the bleep of monitors, the sound of trolleys being moved, the noises made by staff and patients, there is a distinct lack. The resulting silence is oppressing.

As you carefully progress down the corridor towards the corridor intersection where you know you will find the elevators, you pass several rooms, each of which although empty and cold seem normal there is no sign of anything untoward having happened.

From what you are seeing so far, other that the blood and the slightly messy state of the enquiries desk, it looks as if all the staff and patients simply got up and left.

Eventually you arrive at the elevators and immediately see the reason for the dinging of the door. A trolley has been lodged half into the elevator thereby stopping the doors from closing with the resulting ding each time they try to shut.

OOC:   There are three elevators in a row the repeatedly opening and closing one is in the middle. You can use your Investigation skill as you go d6 (don’t forget you wild dice roll of d6) Target Number is 4 but the higher you roll the better.

[DrPeterson]

OOC:   I made the test with a 5! Investigating (1d6=5, 1d6=4)

Valentine thinking:   What the hell happened here...

Deputy Valentine casts a quick glance in the elevator, hoping he won't see any blood or gore in there. He draws his maglite and moves towards the stairwell. He knew better than to use elevators in cases of emergency and besides, someone had blocked those doors on purpose.

Valentine thinking:   But what purpose?

[Priest]

Other than the trolley blocking the entrance to the elevator, it is empty and as clean as elsewhere you have seen so far. The only sign of wrongness, other than the oppressive quiet, was the pool of drying blood near the enquiry desk.
As you start to move towards the stairwell some instinct causes you to look back to the enquiry desk near the front doors. From where you are you can see that a light is blinking on and off steadily on the telephone base unit. Strange, you think, that wasn’t there before.

There is no noise, no audible warning, just a small yellow flashing light…

[DrPeterson]

This empty hospital is giving Deputy Valentine the creeps. He tries to block out the sound of the elevators and returns to the desk, trying to figure out where the blood could have come from.

Dice,I'm going to assume it either requires no roll or an investigation roll, so here it is: [dice]0[/dice] Hooray, a six, this roll adds to the 6: [dice]1[/dice] uhm, okay, this roll adds to the result of 12 [dice]2[/dice] Okay, so in the end, I rolled a 14 :D

Robert leans over the counter and picks up the receiver, pushing the button to accept the incoming call.

[Priest]

From the reciever you hear a whispered voice, probably female but you can't be sure.
"Is that's the cop, you need to be quiet. You don't want to make any noise, noise attracts them. There are a couple of us, mostly nurses, trapped in a private room up here on three."
Beside the voice you can hear the sound of someone sobbing quietly,
"Watch out for two, that's where the soldiers penned them before they pulled out. I have to go now, in case they hear me, good luck, you'll need it"
With a click the line goes dead.

Questions race through your mind, chief of them where is Andrea, her room was up on three?

[DrPeterson]

Deputy Valentine thinking:   Noise attracts them? Who are they?

Valentine looks at the receiver and puts it down, he had to get up to three as quick as he could.

He turns and, avoiding the blood, walks back towards the stair case. He flicks on his flashlight, takes a deep breath and opens the door, ready to head upstairs.

[Priest]

Inside the stairwell it is very dark, lucky you brought the flashlight. As you begin the climb up the stairs from the first floor, the silence becomes almost deafening and your heart is beating so loud that you are sure others can hear it.

Boom - ba, boom - ba,boom....

Far above you you can see a sqare of light, no doubt from a skylight at the top of the stairwell, how many floors has this place got? is it five or six?

Slowly making as little noise as you can in the echoing stairwell you eventually arrive at a landing with a door marked 'Floor 2 Wards..." not your destination but the voice on the phone had warned you of this floor.

The door has a round porthole window, its glass wired and marked safety glass. Keeping your flashlight shielded you risk a quick glance through the glass, which seems to have been smeared with something making vision difficult. But it is enough for you to see;

Whatever they are they seem to be busy. You look down and see that someone has used cable ties to lock the door shut. They aint getting out of there in a hurry.
As you turn to move away from the door to begin climbing the next flight of stairs, one of them, the nearest, turns and looks straight at you. For a moment you feel that he knows you are there, but you aren't aware that you have made any noise and between you and him stands a heavy duty fire door...

OOC:   Please make a Guts check for what you're seeing; 1d8 for guts !d6 (wild dice) You need a 4 minimum on either dice. Dont forget maximums roll again and add.

[DrPeterson]

Guts (12!),[dice]0[/dice] [dice]1[/dice] Hooray, here's an additional d8: [dice]2[/dice]

Robert fights the urge to violently recoil from the door. Instead, he slowly slides to the side and towards the staircase going up.

Deputy Valentine thinking:   What the hell was that? They were tearing those people to shreds...

He slowly backs away from the door, one step at a time, after having taken a few steps he turns around and rushes up to the third floor, fearing what he'll find there.

Deputy Valentine thinking:   I'm coming [b]Andrea[/b]!

[Priest]

As you hurry up the stairs to the landing which will give you access to floor 3, Andrea’s floor, you hear from behind a heavy thudding, and recognise the sound of someone trying to bust down a door. Well at least the cable will hold them for a while.

The door to floor 3 is exactly the same as that to 2 but without the adornment of cable ties or blood smears, in fact it looks wedged partially open by a discarded sneaker, the rubber soled variety favoured by hospital staff.

Creeping the last few steps you peer cautiously through the glass porthole. Noting the utter destruction that greets your vision.
Here the walls are splattered with a combination of blood, bullet holes in long lines and the black scorch marks of low yield explosives. A few strip lights remain functioning but in a flickering non consistent manner.

If you were beginning to be creeped out before you are really getting worried now. At the far end of the long corridor an abandoned nurses station draws your attention amidst all the debris several sheets of paper have been taped to the wall above. On them someone has drawn a big arrow in marker, big enough for you to see it easily from the doorway, beneath it someone has scrawled in huge letters ‘THIS WAY. FOR GODS SAKE HURRY’

You look at the tiled carpet flooring of the corridor noting the covering of plaster, glass and pieces of medical equipment. Getting from here to there quietly is going to be fun.

As if in answer your eye catches movement in one of the private rooms that flank the corridor, someone or something is inside…

OOC:   To move quietly from the doorway to the nurses station requires Stealth which you do not have. So for you it means an untrained Agility roll at -2 this -2 mod applies to both your d8 and d6 dice. So you need to roll a d8-2 and a d6-2 and make your TN of 4, maximum rules apply so good luck.

[DrPeterson]

Sneak roll (5! Hooray!),[dice]0[/dice] [dice]1[/dice]

Robert stealthily squeezes through the door. He slowly makes his way through the rubble strewn corridor, trying not to make a sound. His heart is throbbing in his ears and he feels beads of sweat run down his cheeks.
He goes around the room with the movement in as wide an arch as he can and goes to follow the instructions on the trolley. Should he pass by Andrea's room, he won't be able to resist the temptation to cast a look inside.

[Priest]

Taking great care you move toward the nurses station with its note. Several times the crunch of crushed glass or plaster makes you freeze, blood pumping in your ears, alert for any indication that your movements have alerted the occupant of the room to your presence.

Yet It seems you have not and in a series of slow, heart stopping, stages, you make the abandoned station.

Inside the area looks a mess as if the result of some mad party. Empty plastic water cups lie strewn haphazardly around the floor. In a corner the empty cylinder of the water cooler lies almost empty, water stains showing the fate of the majority of its contents.

Sheets of paper, many bearing various figures and graphs, are scattered on almost every surface. Clipboards hang precariously from several holders each marked with a name, room number, and a summation of illness or injury. Luckilly the dim light cast by the remaining strip lighting denies you sight of what else might be staining the floor tiles, though the occasional reflection of the flickering flourescents proveide an indication of what it might be.

One board catches your eye 'Andrea Carole Valentine - Room 309 - Pregnancy Complications'. I Notes in various hands report on the progress of various tests and observations carried out since her admittance, including a final note by Dr Prashma indicating her discharge tomorrow. Beneath in large red letters someone has scrawled 'relocated to central' there is no date, time or indication of who had authorised this 'relocation'.

To your right further along the corridor in the direction indicated by the note, there is a muffled click and a door gently opens a few inches. In the resulting gap you can see a single eye looking straight at you,
"Shhh!!"

[DrPeterson]

Robert ruefully looks at the intended discharge date and sighs. He looks up as the door opens a bit and, taking Andrea's tablet along, he slowly moves to the door, millions of questions burning in his mind.