Chapter One: ‘And the dead shall walk the earth’

[Priest]

The following message is read in a calm voice over various speakers throughout deck four, no matter your location you can hear, “Will all passengers on deck four please return to their cabins so that the situation may be dealt with. Security Personnel will be patrolling the corridors of the deck, anyone in the passages without permission will be detained. The management of the cruise line apologise for any inconvenience. There is no reason for alarm, the situation is being contained and normal service will soon be resumed”.

Almost immediately someone sets off a fire alarm adding its high pitched warning to that of the screams and shouts. For those inside a cabin the volume of noise is almost intolerable, for those in the corridors deafening.

In their state room at the stern of the ship Marcello and Gabriella drag any item of furniture that can be moved to the door in an effort to fortify it.

In 403 Pedro’s view of the corridor is blocked by a uniformed figure that is advancing down the passageway towards the infirmary. Jonathan is on his third whiskey when a sharp intake of breath from Emily draws his attention away from his cell phone, which for some reason refuses to find a signal. Jodie May has risen from a supine position to a sitting one, and is moving her right foot towards the floor.
“Mrs Haynes”, says Emily rushing towards her, “No…don’t move until I’ve checked you out”. Reaching the still moving Jodie May her face registers her surprise when the woman she had a few minutes ago declared dead reaches out in an embrace. As Jonathan watches, in horror, Jodie May nuzzles her mouth into the surprised doctor’s throat and with a moan of almost sexual pleasure rips the skin free in a spray of arterial blood. Unable to do more than gurgle and struggle wildly Emily watches through terrified eyes as the now blood soaked mouth of Jodie May returns again and again to tear more flesh from her neck and shoulder.

Moving as fast as possible whilst carrying a six year old child who is doing her best to see what is happening behind them, Ricky Moskey, heading towards the stern of the ship and the elevator he knows is there, is surprised by the sudden appearance of three armed security personnel. One of them, a woman with her dark hair tied behind her cap, holds out her hands, “Whoa there. Can’t you hear the announcement? Please return to your cabin, lock the door and stay there until the situation has been calmed. Any threat is minimal and will soon be dealt with in a professional manner by trained personnel. Thank you Mr…?”

Trying desperately, and succeeding to hold onto the food he had eaten earlier, Luke Hoffman stared into his cameras display screen. He had managed to capture the image alright but he was starting to wish he hadn’t. The image showed that the huddle on the floor outside of the infirmary was in fact three people. One wore a security uniform, or rather some of it, the others a parody of ships medical uniforms, such as those he had seen earlier attending the death of Billy Haynes, all were liberally splashed with varying amounts of blood, most of which seemed to be coming from the security guard. However, it was not the profusion of blood and gore that rocked him, he had seen plenty of that in his travels, but the fact that the two medical personnel seemed to ripping large amounts of flesh from the still wriggling security guard, and he couldn’t, or didn’t want to, see what they were doing with it.
Almost in a dreamlike state he moved the image to the second he had taken, for the most part the picture looked the same. The only main differences he could see was that firstly the two blood covered medics seemed now to be looking straight at him, and secondly, coming through the doorway into the corridor as large as life was Billy Haynes also covered in a large amount of blood.

OOC: Both Pedro and Jonathan need to make fear checks (1d10 + willpower + any bonuses from qualities/skills Pedro gets +4 for nerves of steel he also gets -1 situational modifier) Target is 9 and again the higher the better.
Luke needs to make a notice check (1d10 + Int + Notice Skill Level -3 situational mod) again target No 9 +

[Garrett]

Looking to make sure Katie had her ears covered Ricky leans close to the woman's head, and speaks just loud enough for her to here him. "Listen you bitch, I don't know what you were told, but there are fucking demons or something in the infirmary! Which is about six yards from my cabin last time I checked, I would sooner be shot then go back their! So I'm getting off this god fosaken ship, and if you want to stop me you have to kill me, right in front of this little girl!" As he finishes speaking he pushes her aside and continues walking, hoping to catch her off guard enough that he could be gone before she decides what to do.
Smooth Talk 15 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4042002/
-If that doesn't work he immediately tries to run around them.
Dash 23 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4042003/

[Priest]

Ricky Moskey:

As you walk away from the female security officer and past her bemused collegues, you hear her say "Goddamn it, I would be justified in shooting you, but your right I don't want to upset the child" She raises her voice to compensate for the growing distance between you and her, "You carry on Mr, but once this is over I'm coming to look for you and then we'll talk some more".

OOC: The fast talk was good enough. However for future reference if you roll a 10 then you roll again;
The Rule of Ten
On a roll of 10, roll again, subtract 5, and add the result (if higher than 0) to 10. So, if the second roll is 6, 7, 8 or 9, the final result is 11, 12, 13 or 14, respectively. If the second roll is 5 or less, nothing is added
and the final roll remains 10. If another 10 is rolled, add 5 to the roll (for a total of 15), and roll again. If
a player rolls a string of 10s, she keeps adding 5 to the result and rolling again.
It also works the other way with;
The Rule of One
On a roll of 1, roll again, subtract 5, and if the result is negative, a negative roll replaces the first roll. If the result is positive, the roll remains 1. If the second roll is between 5 and 10, the final result remains 1. If the second roll is 2, 3, or 4, the final result is -3, -2 or -1, respectively. If the second roll is 1, the prior roll is replaced with -5, and the player must roll again (applying the same rule).

[Garrett]

Ricky raises his middle finger over his back as he continues towards the lifeboats (I'm assuming he knows where they are from the safety instruction that most ships give out) Keeping close to the wall and in the shadows, so as to avoid any other security he might encounter.
Stealth 17 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4042063/

[Mr. Handy]

Pedro barely manages to keep it together. He runs over to the nightstand, puts down the whiskey glass on it, and snatches up the lamp, intending to swing it at Jodie May to rescue Emily.

OOC,I don't have Nerves of Steel, but I still made it.

[kabukiman]

OOC: Did Marcello finished the barricade? And more important, can he escape by the window?

[DrPeterson]

OOC: That was close!

Spoiler:

Fear check d10+4,http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4042842/

Jonathan stares incredulously at the phone and then looks up just as Emily's comely throat is being torn to shreds. His jaw drops, as do his phone and drink. He reels back from the bloody scene for a moment, but quickly gathers his wits and leaps forward to pull Emily and Jody Mae apart.


OOC: I think Pedro'll be faster than I am, he's helluva dexterous.

[Mr. Pear]

Luke can hardly believe what he sees, staring at the gruesome scene he captured but seconds ago. He sees the whole of human shapes mutilating the poor victim on the ground, but in his state of utter stupefaction, he fails to single out any one of them or realise what they are doing. Nor does he identify the oversized bloodsmudged corpse as the recently deceased Billy Haynes. Despite his mental shock, it is rather clear that his mission to find help for the slightly wounded widow will have to be aborted here. Still not fully aware of what he just witnessed, Luke starts to slowly backup. Somewhere deep in his mind, something tells him he should run like hell, but at the same time he is too mindblown to accelerate as quickly as he sould. Step by step the images start to penetrate through to his mind and he starts to advance back in the direction of room 403 where he knows it’s safe among his newly acquainted allies, and to warn them about the serial killers on board.
To any passenger he sees on his way outside their cabin, he screams a hardly comprehensible “Get insiiiide!!!”.

[Priest]

OOC: Pedro - Sorry I thought you had 'nerves of steel' but it was 'fast reaction time' for which, as you know you, get a +1 to willpower for fear checks.

Marcello - You are able to barricade the dooor to a fashion, and technically you could climb up from your balconey to the deck above you. I wouldn't fancy it though.

Ricky - You would know where the life boat stations are. You need to be on one of the upper decks.

[kabukiman]

Marcello stays near the door (but not behind to avoid any gunshot) and try to listen anything outside to see if he can hear anything.
-Gabriella, make a call to the security to see if they tell what is happening.

[Priest]

Marcello di Monti:

OOC: You can hear the announcement over the speakers, although it is slightly muffled by the door. There is also the annoying wail of the fire alarm. You can also hear, though not make out, angry shouting from somewhere in the corridor.

Gabriella picks up the telephone handset and presses the button for the operator, she listens intently, but after a while shaking her head she replaces the phone, "Nothing, just a looped message advising all passengers on deck four to stay in their cabins".

[kabukiman]

-Go to the mini-bar and see if you find a bootle of scotch, we may use that as a weapon if needed. Meanwhile I'l go to the net and try to see if I can contact anyone else outside this ship.
Marcello goes to the net to look for some police adress and then make a call to the local police.

[Priest]

Luke Hoffman:

Backing away , still trying to make sense of what he is seeing, Luke is suddenly aware of someone behind him. Glancing quickly over his shoulder he sees a uniformed security person, gun in hand, right behind him, “Move behind me sir, then return to your cabin as advised”.
The guard moves forward to within a few feet of the slowly disentangling huddle on the floor, “Okay, stand up real slow, no funny moves” Still moving backwards but watching in morbid fascination, Luke sees the blood soaked figures rise and begin a slow movement toward the gun armed guard. “Okay, don’t move. I will fire on you!” Obviously the warning is having little effect as the figures, now three it seems, continue to move towards him, “Jesus H Christ!” he shouts and fires three shots from the pistol.
Still backing away, Luke watches in fascination as the lead figure is jerked backward by the impact of bullets, yet after stumbling slightly continues moving forward a low moan the only sound.
Luke thinking discretion may be the best thing here, turns to flee back to 403. As he reaches the closed door he hears behind him the guard yell “Aw, fuck!” immediately followed by the deafening roar of more gunshots…

[Priest]

Room 403:

Jonathan, who is closest to the carnage, makes a grab for Emily and tries to pull her from Jodie May's grasp, despite the blood that seems to be fountaining from the area of the doctors throat. Surprisingly this proves simple as it seems Jodie May has lost interest in the doctor, her interest subsiding at the same rate as the blood gushing from Emily’s torn throat. That Emily is dead is obvious as no one could survive wounds like that. Yet all Jonathan can see is the imploring look in her rapidly dimming eyes.
It seems that Jodie May has decided on a new target and as Jonathan drags the limp form of Emily from her grasp, she makes a grab at his arm

Spoiler:

(http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4043258/)

and missed.

Pedro, showing the turn of speed for which he has become famous amongst the Miami baseball community, scoops up the heavy ornately carved lamp stand and advances on Jodie May who has struggled to her feet and is now advancing toward Jonathan.
From the door comes the sound of urgent knocking accompanied by a fusillade of gunfire…

[Priest]

Ricky Moskey:

Having flipped off the security guard, Ricky, carefully, continues his journey towards the elevator he knows is at the rear of deck four, as he moves away from them he overhears a burst of radio chatter, “I don’t give a damn. The next one, you shoot okay? Kid or no kid” With a smile Ricky turns down the short corridor that leads to the elevators.

Marcello di Monti:

As Gabriella starts to hunt for a bottle large enough to use as a weapon, Marcello opens up his i-pad to discover nothing, there is no web access of any kind. As he stares at a blank screen there is a distant sound of gunfire, although he notes, grimly, that most of the screaming has stopped and someone seems to have turned off the damned fire alarm.

[Mr. Pear]

Luke Hoffman keeps looking over his shoulder as he rushes back to room 403, unable to look away from the atrocity. As soon as he reached the door, he wildly pounds it with his left fist and left foot simultaneously, since his right hand is still holding on to the camera.
“Guys! Open up! Let me in, let me in! There’s a bunch of madmen out here! Let me back inside!”
He turns his back to the door to take some more pictures of the security guard being devoured by the psychopath. He kicks the door repeatedly with his heel as hard as he could, to clarify the urgence of the matter.
“Open the fucking door! They’re going to kill me too if you don’t let me in! OPEN UUUUUUP!!!”
He continues beating the door, not letting the cannibalistic brutality one moment out of sight.

[Garrett]

Ricky heads for the stairs, not the elevator unless it would be a huge hassle to get to them. Also let me know if I need to make an extra sneak check, he really doesn't want to be seen.

[kabukiman]

- Stupid device, it never works when you need. And finally that irritating sound stopped-he says relieved- You think it's safe now? Go to the list of the phone, and start making calls, to see if anyone answers. I think I'l knock the wall from our neighbor, maybe he knows something.

OOC,I don't know how it works here, but I remember that in some hotels, the number of the room was the same number of phone. so sooner or latter Gabriella should get in contact with someone :)

.

[DrPeterson]

Jonathan pounces back, rather unceremoniously dropping Emily's body as he instinctively reacts to the danger, his reflexes trained during years of boxing and fighting at press conferences and bars. He feels the rush of blood and adrenaline course through his body, the pounding in his ears, vaguely accompanied by the pounding on the door. He tries to draw Jodie May with him, keeping distance, blocking off any grapples as best as he can, hoping he can offer Pedro a clear shot.

OOC,[color=#BF0000]OOC: Do I need to make a Brawling check? If so,I score a 10.[url]http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4043542/[/url][/color]

[Mr. Handy]

Pedro grips the lamp in both hands as if it were a baseball bat, just like he's practiced doing for years. Stepping up behind Jodie May as if he were approaching the plate, he swings with all his might and lays into Jodie May for all he's worth - with enough force that it would easily have been a home run had he merely been hitting a baseball.

OOC,That's a total of 23! :shock: