Play@YSDC

Z-Day - 10:14 AM Central Time - In the helicopter, northwest of Brownson
At the landing site-
Try as he might, Sean could not free his knife. As the adrenaline from the life or death struggle began to fade, the pain wracked his body. He didn't see how he could live for hours this way, but he had the strength to keep going for now. The helicopter was now several hundred feet above and began to bank to the east, taking Brigetta to safety...he hoped. But had they managed to load enough fuel into the tank first to get all the way to Omaha?

OOC,[b]Sean[/b], you are correct. You may make four First Aid attempts, but only one per turn. The base skill is 30%. Go ahead and make one now, and roll 1D3 if you succeed to see how many HP you recover. You may also make further attempts to retrieve your knife by rolling against Knife on future turns, though that will also take precious time.

Sean takes a deep breath and considers his options. He's dead; he has no hope for a miracle cure, especially without Brigetta. But he was fairly strong. And he was injured. Chances were good if he could patch up a few of these wounds he'd be in better shape to head back to the truck stop, and maybe it would delay the inevitable. So he gets to work.

First Aid 56%,[dice]0[/dice] [dice][/dice] [dice]1[/dice] Think that's a crit, so do I get an extra 1d3 back? I believe you can't heal an injury for more than that specific injury lost you in hp, but I'll go ahead and roll the extra 1d3 in case the first one does not fully heal the damage. [b]Edit[/b]: Actually pretty sure I just missed getting a crit here. I'll leave in the extra die in case I was wrong, but for some reason I was thinking crits are half instead of 1/5th. [dice]2[/dice]

10:15 AM
At the landing site-
The helicopter sped off to the east, leaving Sean far behind. He knew he would never see Brigetta again, but at least he knew she was safe. He started by treating the worst of his wounds, the horrendous bite on his leg. Tying his belt as a tourniquet around his thigh stopped the bleeding and made him feel a little better, but not much. Still, he knew it would delay his inevitable demise and buy him some more time.

OOC,With an extreme success (1/5 of your skill or lower), I'd allow you to automatically heal the maximum of 3 damage or the amount actually sustained, whichever was lower. A critical success, would actually be a roll of 1-5, and that I could allow to heal more than 1D3, but you're right that you can't heal more for a specific injury than was lost in it. You may make another First Aid roll.

Every little bit helped-- especially when Sean felt somewhat better after stopping the bleeding in his leg wound. He attempts to treat another.

First Aid 56%,[dice]0[/dice] Without looking, pretty sure that's the exact result I got last time. [dice]1[/dice] What is with these rolls? Well, I suppose Sean is injured enough that he's not going to be 100% at treating his ailments.

10:16 AM
At the landing site-
The helicopter was now gone from view. Sean bandaged his crushed ribs as best he could, tearing his shirt into strips to make bandages. It wasn't much, but it was something.

OOC,[b]Sean[/b], you may roll FIrst Aid again. You've already treated your 4 and 3 point injuries, so the next roll can treat the 2 point injury. If you succeed, the most HP you can recover from your 1D3 roll is 2, so you'll only get 2 back if you roll a 3.

There was nothing to do but keep at it. Every injury he treated lessened the pain he was in, allowing him to focus on making it to the truck stop and seeing Jim again. Then he could focus on killing as many of the zombies as he could before his own wounds caught up to him.

He turns his attention to the next wound.

First Aid 56%,[dice]0[/dice]

10:17 AM
At the landing site-
Sean's fingers fumbled as he tried to patch up the bite on his arm. He managed to stop the bleeding with another tourniquet, but he didn't feel any better. If anything, he was weakening, which may have been why his first aid was less effective.

OOC,[b]Sean[/b], you may make one more First Aid roll to treat your 1-point injury. If you succeed, you'll get that point back, and there's no need to roll damage.

Stay focused. Keep calm. Sean patches up his last wound, hoping he does a better job.

First Aid 56%,[dice]0[/dice]

10:18 AM
At the landing site-
Sean didn't have any better luck with the minor bite on his side, as the tips of his fingers were starting to go numb.

OOC,That's all the First Aid attempts you can make. If you encounter other characters, they can make attempts on the two wounds you couldn't treat.

Taking a deep breath, Sean tries one more time to wrench his knife free. It was a good one, and if he could not make use of it maybe someone else could.

Knife 53%,[dice]0[/dice]

10:18:12 AM
At the landing site-
The knife was stuck in there pretty deep, and those numb fingertips weren't making it any easier. Sean might be able to dislodge it eventually, but how much longer did he have?

OOC,[b]Sean[/b], you may make another attempt if you wish.

Sean is stubborn. It occurs to him that maybe he wanted to get this damn knife out so badly because it's the only control he had left over his life. Whatever the reason, he tries again.

Knife 53%,[dice]0[/dice]

ooc,I see we're going into 12 seconds or so for each turn, so if it's alright with you I'll make a few more rolls to represent him continuing to try. Sorry if I jump the gun here; feel free to disregard in that case. [dice]1[/dice] [dice]2[/dice] [dice]3[/dice]

10:18:36 AM
At the landing site-
It took a while, but eventually Sean managed to wrench the knife free. It was covered in blood and viscera, but taking additional time to clean it beyond a quick wipe seemed like too much. His life might be measured in hours, or even minutes, and every second was precious.

OOC,Yes, you assumed correctly. You got the knife back in the third round. Please roll Luck.

Sean wrenches the knife free and actually breaks down crying. Then he laughs at how stupid this all is that he placed so much importance in getting back his knife. But it had been good to him; it had saved his life, or at least extended it for a bit. And you never left a comrade behind.

Luck 50%,[dice]0[/dice]

He's not feeling all that lucky, but one never knew. He gets to his feet unsteadily and plots out his next move.

At the landing site-
Sean was relieved that no more of the infected had entered the area while he was busy patching himself up and retrieving his knife. The road went north and south, and he knew that the truck stop was somewhere to the southwest of here. He had come this way from the south, and that road led to Route 30 and I-80, either of which would get him back to the truck stop. The broken down police cruiser was also about a mile to the south. He wasn't much of a mechanic, but perhaps he could get it running again, at least for long enough to get him back. It would be much faster driving back than it would on foot, that was for certain. He wasn't sure he could last long enough to get back otherwise.

Sean takes a deep breath. Drawing on all the energy he can, he begins jogging back towards the police car. Hopefully he could fix it.

10:19 AM
On the road-
Sean began jogging back along the road to the south. At his maximum speed, he would reach the police car in about nine minutes.

Sean keeps moving, trying to think of nothing but the run and the mission.

10:20 AM
On the road-
Sean continued the long run back to the police car.

Sean continues to run, trying to ignore the pain.

10:21 AM
On the road-
Sean kept running. He was now seven minutes away. How many did he have left?

Sean keeps moving, focusing on everything but the bite and what it meant.

10:22 AM
On the road-
Sean continued, now a third of the way to the car. Wallace hadn't deteriorated this quickly, and he had been bitten over an hour ago. Was it because Sean had been bitten multiple times? Was it because most of his bites had been worse than Wallace's, especially the one on his leg? Brigetta would surely have some ideas about it, but she wasn't here. He was reminded once more that he would never see her again.

Just need to keep going for 30 minutes. Sean thinks. I'll say goodbye to Jim and then go out on a kamikaze run. Maybe prime the car to explode and take out as many of the bastards as I can. Should prevent me from becoming one as well.

10:23 AM
On the road-
Sean was now almost halfway to the car. He had to hope he could get it started. It didn't look like he could make it back on foot.

Sean wipes his brow and continues moving. What else could he do?

10:24 AM
On the road-
Sean was now only a third of a mile from the car. It felt like he had been going forever.

Sean hopes Jim is alright-- he knows how one mistake, one second of overconfidence, could prove fatal. He keeps moving.

10:25 AM
On the road-
Sean trudged onward. He would reach the car in another couple of minutes.

Sean keeps trucking along.

10:26 AM
On the road-
Sean kept running, his lungs burning. He was almost there now.

Sean keeps moving.

10:27 AM
On the road-
Sean finally reached the police cruiser.

OOC,[b]Sean[/b], please roll Mechanical Repair if you want to try to fix the car. The base skill is 20%.

Sean stops running, taking a few seconds to catch his breath. Then he gets to work fixing the cruiser. Hopefully he would get it working in short order.

Mechanical Repair 20%,[dice]0[/dice] I hope this is one of the times where I can keep rolling until it works. ;)

10:28 AM
On the road-
Sean tinkered with the engine, but the car refused to start.

OOC,Yes, this is one of those times. You may make another Mechanical Repair roll. You get one attempt per minute until you either succeed, critically fail (and damage it irreparably), turn into a zombie, or get interrupted some other way.

"Come on!" Sean says. He says a prayer to anyone that's listening and tries again.

Mechanical Repair 20%,[dice]0[/dice]

10:29 AM
On the road-
Sean kept trying, but the engine still wouldn't turn over.

OOC,[b]Sean[/b], you may make another Mechanical Repair roll.

Sean continues to try. He refuses to believe he came so far only to be stopped by a faulty engine. Damn it, if he could kill near a dozen of the infected he could start a car!

Mechanical Repair 20%,[dice]0[/dice] Oh dear.

10:30 AM
On the road-
Something broke when Sean tried to tinker with it, and the engine died - and with it, his hope. Nothing he did was able to bring it back to life.

Sean allows him the luxury of a few seconds of utter despair. Then he tries to think things though. He doubts he could get back to the motel in this state, but it was worth trying, anyway. Alternatively he could blow up the car and try to attract attention, though it was likely the only attention he would attract would be the undead kind. Still, that wasn't totally bad-- maybe he could take a few more of them down.

He decides to start moving back towards the motel. Maybe he'd find another car along the way, or people or something. But if he felt himself about to die... he knew what he had to do. He just hoped he could do something more with his life first.

10:31 AM
On the road-
Sean abandoned the cruiser and continued the long jog back to the highway. If there were other vehicles anywhere, they would likely be there. It would take him another 8 minutes to reach the turnoff to Brownson.

Sean gets moving.

10:32 AM
On the road-
Sean kept going, which was all he could do. It was still a long way to anywhere.

Sean keeps going. The only goals driving him now are to meet Jim one more time-- and kill zombies.

10:33 AM
On the road-
Sean continued. He had now progressed a third of a mile past the cruiser.

Sean keeps trucking along.

10:34 AM
On the road-
Sean kept making progress, and now he was almost half a mile beyond the ruined car.

Sean keeps moving. He's grateful for all those long hikes he had to take for work now.

10:35 AM
On the road-
Sean ran on, now more than halfway to the turnoff.

Sean remains focused on reaching the turnoff. He wills a car to be there, and preferably functional.

10:36 AM
On the road-
Sean kept going, not able to do anything else. He was about a third of a mile from the turnoff.

OOC,[b]Sean[/b], please roll Spot Hidden and Luck.

Sean keeps on going. He wonders if he'll get a last meal. He's not all that hungry, but it seemed appropriate.

Spot Hidden 39%,[dice]0[/dice]

Luck 50%,[dice]1[/dice]

10:37 AM
On the road-
The turnoff looked clear of threats, but Sean couldn't see any vehicles either. There were bound to be some on I-80, but that was at least another mile beyond Brownson. Could he possibly make it that far?

Having no other option, Sean keeps going.

10:38 AM
On the road-
Sean was now much closer to the intersection, and he could confirm what he had suspected earlier. There were no cars in sight. Either he could risk going into Brownson to find a car, which would be closer but out of his way and potentially more dangerous, or he could continue the long walk to I-80.

OOC,This concludes Chapter 1. Zombie Apocalypse will continue in Chapter 2: The Quick and the Undead.

The story continues in Chapter 2, in the following thread:

Death's Door