Z-Day - 10:00 AM Mountain Daylight Time - Underneath the T-Bone In the warehouse- Buzz and Mutt led the way back up the stairs and into the warehouse, carrying their crates. Earl, Ashley, and Thomas carried the remaining sealed crate, followed by Hammond lugging Kerry and Flip escorting Rosie.
"Careful," whispered Horst. "We don't know what the situation is up on the surface, so be prepared for anything."
"I hear someone upstairs, opening the trapdoor," Mutt whispered back. "He sounds like a demon laughing."
"That's Hammond," Flip added quietly.
"Same difference, then," added Horst. "He shoulda run when he had the chance."
OOC,[b]Earl[/b]'s Listen roll (25% base skill):
[dice]0[/dice]
[b]Rosie[/b]'s Listen roll (60% skill):
[dice]1[/dice]
[b]Ashley[/b]'s Listen roll (50% skill):
[dice]2[/dice]
[b]Horst[/b]'s Listen roll (25% base skill):
[dice]3[/dice]
[b]Flip[/b]'s Listen roll (36% skill):
[dice]4[/dice]
[b]Buzz[/b]'s Listen roll (49% skill):
[dice]5[/dice]
[b]Mutt[/b]'s Listen roll (56% skill):
[dice]6[/dice]
Rosie/Ashley/Flip,The sound of something heavy being moved, followed by the trapdoor opening, came from upstairs. Then [b]Hammond[/b]'s maniacal laugh drifted down from above.
10:01 AM In the warehouse-
The group carried the crates across the warehouse to the stairs leading back to the surface.
Rosie/Ashley/Flip,"Need any help, Boss?" came [b]Dave[/b]'s voice from far upstairs.
"Thanks, [b]Dave[/b], I got this," said [b]Hammond[/b] after a pause. Then there was the sound of liquid spraying. "Those skinheads are down there with a bunch of those people who won't stay dead. I managed to get away while they were fighting. Now I'm gonna burn 'em all!"
Buzz and Mutt began ascending the stairs when a stream of liquid began flooding down them from above. "S***, run!" cried Buzz, turning around and running back with Mutt into the warehouse just ahead of the flood. Thomas had been around the truck stop long enough to recognize the scent of diesel fuel. It spread out quickly across the floor.
Horst and Flip grabbed their hostages and headed back downstairs, followed closely by the others.
10:02 AM In the warehouse- Earl and Ashley didn't hesitate, running with Thomas downstairs with the crate ahead of the spreading fuel. Buzz and Mutt were right behind them with their own crates.
In the fallout shelter-
"Stop boss, someone else down there," yelled Dave from far above. "Who is down there, identify yourself?"
As everyone rounded the first landing, there was a whoosh from above, and the top of the stairs was lit by an orange glow as the warehouse was engulfed in flames! "BURN IN HELL YOU BASTARDS!" screamed Hammond from far above at the top of his lungs.
"My own brother-in-law just tried to kill me!" exclaimed Earl. "And Rita's down here too!"
"Where'd he get the gas?" asked Buzz. "I thought the damn pumps blew up!"
"It's the fires of hell!" cried Mutt as they hastily descended the next flight of stairs. They were out of immediate danger now, the conflagration far enough above them. "We're trapped down here!"
"No we're not," said Horst, who was strangely calm. It wasn't like him to be the voice of reason. "This sweet thing managed to get in here from the compound through the tunnels." He squeezed Kerry. "That means we can get back that way."
"The demons are below and they are hungry," said Flip.
Horst laughed. "If we run into any demons, they'll be sorry they messed with me." Now that was more like him.
Thomas is not sure that's the best idea, but it's probably a better option than whatever awaited them topside.
"I can't believe Hammond would do this. I mean, he's a prick and all, but this seems pretty hardcore. And everyone else just went along with it?" He shakes his head in disbelief. Had they been only a few steps further along there was a good chance they'd all be dead now, and it sobers him.
He looks towards Horst's prisoner. "Um, any chance we can get her to tell us the way she came?" He doubted it; the woman seemed distraught. And from what he saw he could hardly blame her.
10:03 AM In the fallout shelter-
"How 'bout it, Kerry?" said Horst. The poor young woman was not responsive, a thousand yard stare on her face. "Yeah, I guess you're right. The other one sure ain't gonna talk. Earl, on the other hand, isn't a blubbering wreck...yet. So, Earl, you gonna tell us how she got in...or would you rather play This Little Piggy?"
Earl gulped. "All I know is that there's a sealed hatch at the far end of the hall, past the cell block," he said. "Me and Hammond found the girls banging on it, trying to get out. We opened the hatch and hauled them up. I never poked around down there, though."
The group finally reached the bottom of the stairs. The open gate loomed before them.
Thomas is still not thrilled about going down the hatch, but he reasons if Kerry had made it it was probably safe. And it seemed like Charlie and the rest had gone down ahead of them.
Besides, it had to be safer than braving that inferno. He continues forward.
10:05 AM In the short hallway-
The group proceeded into the reception area.
In the reception area-
Here the three dead bodies, two skinheads and one priest, still lay, thankfully unmoving. "We're in hell," said Mutt, his voice full of wonder. "We're all in hell."
Thomas keeps moving. He really wishes Horst would give him a gun, but he knows he'll just mock him again, so he keeps quiet.
In a way, maybe this was a blessing. Horst seemed unstable, and there was every chance a firefight might erupt if they reached the surface. Hopefully no more of those things were down below, though.
Thomas,[b]Thomas[/b] heard a squeaking sound coming from up ahead, accompanied by gnawing. He recognized the sounds as being made by rats, and they were coming from one of the cells; specifically, the one containing the dead body.
"Um, guys, I'm hearing some sort of squeaking sound, I think it's rats. They sound like they're coming from one of the cells up ahead. The one with the...dead body." He does not speak out the obvious conclusion of what they may be doing.
10:08 AM In the cell block-
The group kept going into the cell block. As it passed the open cell door, everyone could see that Thomas was right. There were two rats in the cell, one already chewing on the corpse and another heading across the floor in order to join it in its gruesome feast.
10:10 AM In the shower room-
The other skinheads laughed as they continued into the common area, Flip and Mutt a little nervously. It occurred to Thomas that most if not all of them had probably done time in prison before.
In the common area-
The group entered the common area. The metal door at the end stood open. "The hatch is just in the next room," said Earl.
It occurs to Thomas that maybe the racist ex cons were not any safer than the man eating cannibals they were "protecting" him and Ash from. But there was no turning back now. And he knew a thing or two about how to misdirect anger away from himself. Usually.
He keeps walking, not sure what they'll find down in the hatch and not looking forward to it, but at east glad they have all these guns.
10:11 AM In the common area-
A single shot sounded from somewhere ahead and below. The group proceeded quickly through the open door.
In the chamber-
Everyone entered a round chamber with an open hatch in the center of the floor that resembled one from a submarine. Next to the hatch was a small control panel. At the back of the chamber was a small door. There was a glass window set into the hatch. A ladder led down through the hole, and at the bottom was a flat lift.
"Let's get that elevator up here so we can bring the crates below," said Horst.
"The demons are below," said Flip. "The demons are below and they are hungry."
"Again with the demons," said Buzz. "What's the matter with you? Sampled some of our merchandise?"
"Did you all hear that gun shot?" Thomas asks. "Are we sure it's safe to go down there?" He doubts anyone will listen to him, so he looks towards Horst and attempts to flatter the man. "Fuhrer, if the group ahead of us got their hands on some weapons, they might give us trouble, and I don't want anymore of your men to get hurt. Could the rest of us have some weapons in case they prove hostile- or if any of the infected have made their way down there?"
OOC: Won't roll unless you tell me to Handy, because I suspect Horst will just insult Thomas again. But felt IC to try.
10:12 AM In the chamber-
"They already had a few weapons," said Horst, "a rifle and a couple of handguns. They didn't attack us before, even when they had our crates of guns, but if they do, we can take 'em."
Buzz pushed the upper button on the control panel and the lift rose from below. It was big enough to hold six people at a time.
Thomas,[b]Thomas[/b] could see that the underside of the glass window in the hatch had a mark upon it, which he recognized as being the impact of a bullet. The glass was unbroken, which suggested that the glass was bulletproof. Beside the hatch was a small panel with yellow and black stripes. On it were two buttons, one red and one green. From below the hatch the gray metal platform was rising, marked "LIFT" and "ENTRANCE TO LAB."
Thomas relays the information to the group. "I don't know if that bulletmark is recent or not, but it looks like something may have happened down there." He's starting to have second doubts about all this, but what choice did they have?
10:13 AM In the upper hatch chamber-
"The demons..." said Mutt.
"Don't be a wuss," said Horst, dragging Kerry onto the platform. "We got the guns, we can take anything down there. You three bring that crate aboard. Mutt, you're with me too. Flip, you and Buzz bring Rosie and the third crate down in the second trip." Once Earl, Thomas, Ashley, and Mutt were aboard, Horst elbowed the button, and the lift began to descend.
In the lower hatch chamber-
Before long, the lift reached the bottom of the shaft, which was a hole in the ceiling of the chamber below. The ladder reached all the way down to the tiled floor of that room, and the lift touched the floor with a loud bump.
The room was sterile, the thick dust on the floor disturbed only by several sets of footprints leading from a hallway to the ladder and back. On the tiles near the lift were the words: "Welcome- DEEP MOLE ONE."
Other writing was on the tiles. Most of it appeared strange and indecipherable. There was also a sign next to the entrance to the hallway.
10:14 AM In the lower hatch chamber-
Everyone stepped off of the lift. "Don't get too far ahead," said Horst, again elbowing the button and sending the lift back up the shaft. "We'll wait here for the others."
Thomas walked up to the sign and read it:
"Project Manager- Alan Kirby
Assistant Project Manager- Samuel Niedler
Head of Geological Research- Patrick Craig
Head of Biological Research- David Muth
Assistant Geological- Judith Reagan
Assistant Biological- Gerald Starsia
Chief Engineer- Thomas Bateman
Assistant Engineer- Robert Cross
Steward- Randy Smith"
He peered down the corridor beside the sign. There was another big room at the end of the short hall.
In the upper hatch chamber-
The lift came back up, and Buzz, Flip, and Rosie climbed aboard.
10:15 AM In the upper hatch chamber- Buzz pressed the button with his elbow, and the lift descended yet again.
In the lower hatch chamber-
While Thomas was reading the sign, Ashley examined the tiles on the floor. The symbols were bizarre and didn't match any known alphabet. She did, however, find some writing in more or less plain English, which she read aloud.
One message on the side was marked simply: "CROATOAN"
Another message said: "F***ers ff***ers fuker fukkers fucers"
A third message said: "The apple has a worm"
A fourth message: "Inside it knows."
The lift reached the bottom of the shaft when Thomas returned to where he, Earl, and Ashley had set down the crate. "All right, let's get moving," said Horst, leading the way with his hostage in front of him.
Any hope Thomas had that this situation was somehow going to improve faded while Ashley read the messages. Something was wrong here-- he only hoped Horst and his men were well enough armed to deal with it. He follows after Horst.
History 30%,[dice]0[/dice]
But something occurs to him, he had enjoyed history in school and the word CROATOAN had stood out for him. "Hey uh, Croatoan? Isn't that the word that was found at the lost colony?"
OOC: Sorry if I overstepped, but I'm guessing this is what that history check is for.
10:16 AM In the lower hatch chamber-
"Yeah, I think you're right," said Ashley.
Thomas had recalled his lessons at school very well. The name of the colony had been Roanoke, founded in what would one day be the State of Virginia in the late 16th century. The governor had gone back to England, and when he returned to Roanoke, he discovered that all of the people were missing without a trace except for that one word. Everyone proceeded down the hall.
In the meeting room-
Everyone emerged from the short corridor into a large conference room of some sort. An oval wooden table surrounded by chairs dominated the center of the room, and there were two exits aside from the way they had come in: an alcove on the left side of the room, and a doorway at the far end. The table was badly scratched, and the chairs had all been ripped up and knocked over.
OOC,You guessed correctly. :)
Everyone may roll Spot Hidden.
Thomas gives a smile to Ash. Not only was she beautiful, she was also hella smart. Man, their kids were going to be great. Provided they survived this crisis anyway.
"It looks like there was some kind of fight here," Thomas says when he enters the room. Then he feels stupid for stating the obvious, so he just looks around and lets Horst direct them.
10:17 AM In the meeting room-
Everyone passed through the room to the hallway beyond.
OOC,[b]Earl[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the meeting room:
[dice]0[/dice]
[b]Rosie[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the meeting room:
[dice]1[/dice]
[b]Ashley[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (30% skill) in the meeting room:
[dice]2[/dice]
[b]Horst[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the meeting room:
[dice]3[/dice]
[b]Flip[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (37% skill) in the meeting room:
[dice]4[/dice]
[b]Buzz[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (51% skill) in the meeting room:
[dice]5[/dice]
[b]Mutt[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (54% skill) in the meeting room:
[dice]6[/dice]
Everyone is moving to the thread below:
