Play@YSDC

Z-Day - 10:00 AM Mountain Daylight Time - Underneath the T-Bone
In the upper hatch chamber-
"I guess I better go with you then," Rita said to Alex, boarding the elevator beside him.

"I'll, uh, wait for the next one," said Lynne, still nervous about going down there."

"I'm bringing up the rear, so I'll stay topside for now too," said Bud.

Charlie and Alice also remained behind.

Duke, Beth, and Robert got on board. From here they could see that the underside of the glass window in the hatch had a mark upon it, which Alex 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. Just below the hatch was the gray metal platform on which they stood, clearly marked "LIFT" and "ENTRANCE TO LAB." It could hold a maximum of six people, so they would definitely need to take two trips. There was also a ladder leading down, the top of it just visible above the surface of the lift.

"Here goes nothing," said Beth, pushing the red button, which was the lower of the two. The elevator descended into the unknown...

In the lower hatch chamber-
As the lift moved down, those on it could see a ladder on one of the walls of the vertical shaft that had previously been concealed beneath it. It led from the chamber below back up to the hatch. "That's good," said Robert. "If anything goes wrong with the lift, we can still get out of here."

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 two sets of footprints leading from a hallway to the ladder. 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.

10:01 AM
In the lower hatch chamber-
After everyone stepped off the platform, Beth pressed the green button to send it back up the shaft.

"We shouldn't get too far ahead," said Robert. "Let's look around here while we wait for the others to catch up to us." He examined the tiles on the floor. The symbols were bizarre and didn't match any known alphabet. He did, however, find some writing in more or less plain English.

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."

Duke walked up to the sign and read it aloud for everyone:
"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's another big room at the end of this short hall," he said.

OOC,Everyone in this room may roll History. The base skill is 20%.

In the upper hatch chamber-
The empty lift returned to the top of the shaft.

History,[dice]0[/dice]

Alex looks at the messages. "Do you reckon these were written by different people at different times?" He hunkers down and takes a look and then gets up and looks down the corridor with his rifle raised. "We'll wait for the others and see if anyone can make any sense of all this before we go any further; we need to know what we're getting into."

10:02 AM
In the upper hatch chamber-
Lynne helped Alice onto the platform, followed by Charlie and Bud. Bud pushed the button, and the lift began to descend.

In the lower hatch chamber-
Alex could see that the hall opened up into what looked like a large meeting room after a short distance. There was nothing moving, and no sign of any people.

Duke shrugged. "I dunno," he said. "Whoever wrote this stuff clearly wasn't right in the head."

"I don't know if I would be after being locked down here, which is clearly what happened to them," said Beth. "I saw that bullethole in the glass of the hatch above. They tried to get out, but it was bulletproof."

"Good point," said Robert. "How can we be sure that won't happen to us?"

"I know what Croatoan means," Beth added. "There was an English settlement called Roanoke established in the late 16th century in Virginia. The governor went back to England once, and when he returned all of the people were gone without a trace except for a carved message with one word: Croatoan."

OOC,[b]Rita[/b]'s History roll (20% base skill) about the messages: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Duke[/b]'s History roll (20% base skill) about the messages: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Beth[/b]'s History roll (20% base skill) about the messages: [dice]2[/dice] [b]Robert[/b]'s History roll (20% base skill) about the messages: [dice]3[/dice]

Alex is impressed, "That's some knowledge, Beth. The 16th century is a long time ago but both times people have disappeared. Rita, when was this place operational do you know? And one thing is bugging me. Look, there are geologists on this list, fair enough but why biologists? What is there for them to research underground?" He turns to watch the elevator descend.

10:03 AM
In the lower hatch chamber-
"Thanks," said Beth. "I think the people who were trapped down here left that message as a deliberate reference to Roanoke. They're educated sorts, so they'd know about it, and they were hoping whoever found this place would get it. That's us."

Rita shrugged. "Earl and Hammond didn't really tell me much about this place," she said. "I think the government had this land since the fifties, and Earl bought it from them in the seventies."

The elevator arrived, and the others stepped off of it.

10:04 AM
In the lower hatch chamber-
Beth filled the others in on what they had learned in this room.

"Are we ready to keep going?" asked Robert.

"Yes. Same positions as before. Everyone keep their eyes and ears peeled as we go and keep noise to a minimum." Alex checks his gun, nods and then moves quietly down the corridor to the big room.

10:05 AM
In the lower hatch chamber-
Everyone proceeded down the short corridor, which opened out into a large meeting room.

In the meeting room-
The explorers 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,Everyone, please roll Spot Hidden. The base skill is 25%.

Alex moves quietly into the room checking all the corners.

Spot Hidden,25%[dice]0[/dice]

. If it's all clear he looks carefully at the scratches to identify what might have made them.

10:06 AM
In the meeting room-
The room was deserted. The doorway at the other end led to a hall with eight cubicle-like alcoves, four on either side, which was also clear. The alcove in this room had nobody in it and led to a small kitchen and pantry. A number of glass jars had been smashed on the floor, and there was broken glass all over the place, but it looked like a simple matter to simply avoid stepping on it. There still appeared to be a lot of food in the pantry, but none of it would be any good after all these years. On one wall was a message written in large red letters that simply said "KIRBY KNEW." Another, smaller, message said "We are going below." On the floor was a steak knife coated with a long-dried red residue that matched the color of the writing on the wall. Examining the scratches, Alex could tell that they were made with a knife, probably the very one he had found. The dark red stains around them looked like they were the same color as that of the substance on the knife. He'd seen enough blood to know that that was what it was.

Alice carefully examined the broken glass in the kitchen. "There's some sort of liquid organic substance on the glass," she said. "It looks like it could be blood, except for the fact that it's purple."

OOC,[b]Rita[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the meeting room: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Charlie[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the meeting room: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Lynne[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (67% base skill) in the meeting room: [dice]2[/dice] [b]Alice[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the meeting room: [dice]3[/dice] [b]Bud[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (55% skill) in the meeting room: [dice]4[/dice] [b]Duke[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (30% skill) in the meeting room: [dice]5[/dice] [b]Beth[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (50% skill) in the meeting room: [dice]6[/dice] [b]Robert[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (50% skill) in the meeting room: [dice]7[/dice]

Alex looks around generally. "This here's been written in blood; I'm guessing Kirby had a different agenda than the others; he was the the project manager I think. Maybe the project went wrong and he said nothing. Someone took their revenge with a knife though; nasty. Alice, it's a kitchen so what's purple, blood like and edible? Blueberry juice? Sounds like a joke. What does it taste of?"

10:07 AM
In the meeting room-
"Are you kidding?" said Alice weakly. "I'm not tasting whatever that is. Even if it isn't poisonous, it must be over sixty years old."

"I'm a grad student in biology," said Duke, examining the liquid. "It certainly does have the consistency of blood, but it can't be. Blood is red when it's exposed to oxygen, because the iron in the hemoglobin turns that color when it's carrying it. Deoxygenated blood, however, is blue-purple and does kind of look like this. You can see it when looking at someone's veins through their skin. But there's definitely oxygen in the air, or we'd all be dead, so it can't be blood. It looks just like blood except for the color, but it's not blood. If I had to guess, it's something analogous to blood. Maybe it uses some other metal instead of iron, like copper. Beyond that, I have no idea. But it may have something to do with the fact that they had biological experts here. I think we've learned all we can from this room. Let's keep going."

OOC,[b]Duke[/b]'s Biology roll (55% skill) about the purple liquid: [dice]0[/dice]

"I was only kidding, Alice." Alex grins and then raises his eyebrows, "We're lucky to have you along, Duke; we're going to need specialist biological knowledge by the looks of it.
I wonder why they kept some weird blood in kitchen jars. Hopefully we won't find out. Come on, let's keep going."
Alex leads the way through the far door, poking his rifle into the alcoves as he passes.

10:08 AM
In the meeting room-
"I don't know if they kept it in the jars," said Duke as they proceeded. "Maybe someone - or something - got cut on the broken glass."

In the quarters-
This was a long room with a hallway at the other end leading further inside. The room contained eight small subdivisions that resembled cubicles, four on each side. The beeping was coming from the second on the right. The corridor continued past them.

"Hmm, maybe they used the jars as missiles against some attacking aliens." Said Alex. It was hard to tell if he was joking or not.
"I'm going to check on that beeping. Anyone seen any torches around? Just in case of a power cut." He heads towards the alcove of beeping and had a look inside.

10:09 AM
In the quarters-
"I haven't seen one," said Robert, "but any batteries that have been down here for decades won't have their charge any more. We'd be better off with candles, if we could find any."

Alex looked into the alcove while Rita covered him. The little room inside was some kind of living quarters, though it wasn't much larger than one of the prison cells upstairs. There was no door, just an opening. Inside, Alex could see a desk and chair, a bookshelf on the wall above the desk, and a small lamp on top of the desk. There was also what seemed to be a bunk, but it looked rather odd. It was shaped like a coffin, but the top was made of clear glass, and there was a panel with buttons on the side. A padlock kept it locked shut. Lying within the capsule was a woman in her thirties, with black hair down to her shoulders and wearing a white lab coat. She appeared to be sleeping, her chest slowly rising and falling.

It was this capsule that was the source of the beeping. A text readout on the panel flashed. Peering closer, Alex could make out the words: "EMERGENCY - OXYGEN LEVELS CRITICALLY LOW- DEATH IMMINENT"

"Holy bazookas! There's a woman in here; quickly we must get her out! Anyone a techy?"Alex calls to everyone and looks hopefully at the two young men otherwise he'll try to decipher the buttons himself.

10:10 AM
In the quarters-
After nobody replied, Alex looked at the controls, which were simple enough. The technology was fairly old, dating back at least to the 1960s. There was a button that would open the lid, but with the padlock in place, it wouldn't work. The device did have an oxygen tank, and the controls indicated that it was just about empty.

"I can't understand those controls, but I can pick locks," said Lynne, who began to fiddle with the padlock. An array of lights inside the capsule came on as soon as she budged the padlock, lighting up the woman inside so that it was easy to see her. Suddenly, her limbs began to twitch. Her arms banged on the glass lid, but it did not break. She seemed to be having some kind of seizure.

OOC,[b]Lynne[/b]'s Locksmith roll (48% skill) trying to pick the lock: [dice]0[/dice]

"Nice try but there's no time to waste- I'll have to shoot the lock off!" Alex aims his rifle at the lock and fires one round.

ooc,This always works in the movies, right?

rifle,80%[dice]0[/dice][dice]1[/dice]

10:11 AM
In the quarters-
Alex blasted the padlock to bits, and Lynne flipped open the glass lid. The woman within stopped flailing her arms and calmed down. They dropped to her sides and she lay still, apparently unconscious.

OOC,Everyone, please roll Listen. The base skill is 25%.

Listen,base[dice]0[/dice]

Alex looks at the woman but keeps his rifle pointing at her.
"Anyone here with medical experience?"

10:12 AM
In the quarters-
"I'm not a doctor, but maybe I can help," said Duke. He approached Judith Reagan, who this woman apparently was, and checked her pulse, then shook his head. "She's dead. No pulse."

"The elevator!" gasped Lynne. "I just heard it moving! It's going back up!"

OOC,[b]Rita[/b]'s Listen roll (25% base skill) in the quarters: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Charlie Moon[/b]'s Listen roll (67% skill) in the quarters: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Lynne[/b]'s Listen roll (61% skill) in the quarters: [dice]2[/dice] [b]Alice[/b]'s Listen roll (25% base skill) in the quarters: [dice]3[/dice] [b]Bud[/b]'s Listen roll (45% skill) in the quarters: [dice]4[/dice] [b]Duke[/b]'s Listen roll (35% skill) in the quarters: [dice]5[/dice] [b]Duke[/b]'s Biology roll (55% skill) examining [b]Judith[/b]: [dice]6[/dice] [b]Beth[/b]'s Listen roll (75% skill) in the quarters: [dice]7[/dice] [b]Robert[/b]'s Listen roll (50% skill) in the quarters: [dice]8[/dice]

"She can't be!" Exclaims Alex in dismay. "She was alive 30 seconds ago!" But there's no time to mourn. "Someone must be coming down. Or something. Everyone hide in the alcoves, those with guns be ready but let's make sure who they are first; you never know they might be friendly."
He sees Duke's expression, "There's a first time for everything." He says with a wry grimace.

10:13 AM
In the quarters-
"Moving doesn't mean alive," said Duke. "Not any more."

"I'll stay in there with her and keep an eye on her," said Bud, "make sure she doesn't get back up."

"The elevator's coming back down!" hissed Lynne. Everyone spread out among the different alcoves.

OOC,Everyone, please roll Hide and choose one of the eight alcoves in which to hide. Failing the roll doesn't necessarily mean you'll be seen. There are eight alcoves, four on each side. [b]Bud[/b] has already offered to stay in the one with the corpse, the second on the right, but he'll gladly choose another one if you want that one.

"Everyone with a gun stay this side, on Bud's side, less chance of cross fire. Alex orders and then nips into the alcove furthest from the lift; his rifle has the longer range.

10:14 AM
In the quarters-
Beth and Robert ducked into the first quarters on the right, while Bud got into the second, Rita entered the third, and Alex hid in the fourth. On the left side, Alice went into the first alcove, Duke the second, Charlie the third, and Lynne the last one.

Each cubicle-like alcove was smaller than a jail cell and contained a small coffin-like bunk, a bookshelf, a desk, and a lamp. The bunks were similar to the one that contained Judith Reagan, though the others were all empty. The only decent hiding place in the compartments was the bunk itself. Alex was confident in his military training in concealment, and he was certain he wouldn't be noticed.

OOC,If you want to search your compartment, you may roll Spot Hidden. The base skill is 25%. [b]Rita[/b]'s Hide roll (10% base skill) in the alcove: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Charlie[/b]'s Hide roll (43% skill) in the alcove: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Lynne[/b]'s Hide roll (46% skill) in the alcove: [dice]2[/dice] [b]Alice[/b]'s Hide roll (10% base skill) in the alcove: [dice]3[/dice] [b]Bud[/b]'s Hide roll (45% skill) in the alcove: [dice]4[/dice] [b]Duke[/b]'s Hide roll (25% skill) in the alcove: [dice]5[/dice] [b]Beth[/b]'s Hide roll (10% base skill) in the alcove: [dice]6[/dice] [b]Robert[/b]'s Hide roll (10% base skill) in the alcove: [dice]7[/dice]

Rita/Charlie/Lynne/Alice/Bud/Robert,The lift went back up again.

Alex takes a quick look round.

Spot hidden,[dice]0[/dice]

10:15 AM
In the quarters-
People took quick looks around their alcoves while they hid and waited for whoever was coming to arrive.

OOC,[b]Alice[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the first quarters on the left: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Beth[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (50% skill) in the first quarters on the right: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Robert[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (50% skill) in the first quarters on the right: [dice]2[/dice] [b]Duke[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (30% skill) in the second quarters on the left: [dice]3[/dice] [b]Bud[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (55% skill) in the second quarters on the right: [dice]4[/dice] [b]Charlie[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the third quarters on the left: [dice]5[/dice] [b]Rita[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the third quarters on the right: [dice]6[/dice] [b]Lynne[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (67% skill) in the fourth quarters on the left: [dice]7[/dice]

Rita/Charlie/Lynne/Alice/Bud/Robert,The lift descended again. They could hear [b]Ashley[/b]'s voice reading off the writing on the tiles that were in the lower hatch chamber. Then [b]Horst[/b] said: "All right, let's get moving." Several pairs of footsteps began to approach in the distance.

Alice,[b]Alice[/b] found a picture of a woman and two children in Hawaii on the desk. A number of books on mining and geology as well as volcanology were on the shelves. Most of the notes in the books had been torn out. On one page there was a message. "[b]Mary[/b], [b]Elizabeth[/b], [b]Tommy[/b]- I love you." On another page there was another message- "[b]Anthony Kirby[/b] has killed himself. I suspect he realizes the significance of our discovery, but that leaves me in command. I will do my best, but I fear one of us is infected."

Beth and Robert,[b]Beth[/b] found a picture of a family on the desk. There was a ring laying near the bedside, the inside of which read, [b]Patrick[/b] and [b]Cherry[/b], married 6/21/60. Under the bed she found a letter written to him that suggested he was having an affair with a woman named [b]Alice[/b]. [b]Beth[/b] quietly showed her finds to [b]Robert[/b].

Duke,[b]Duke[/b] saw that the books on the shelves were mostly to do with chemistry and biology.

Bud,[b]Bud[/b] was horrified to see that the dead body of [b]Judith Reagan[/b] was already starting to decay.

Charlie Moon,[b]Charlie[/b] found nothing of note, but at least he had hidden himself well.

Rita,[b]Rita[/b] found nothing of note.

Lynne,[b]Lynne[/b] found nothing of note. Too bad. She had been hoping to steal something valuable.

Alex,[b]Alex[/b] found nothing of note.

10:16 AM
In the quarters-

Rita/Charlie/Lynne/Alice/Bud/Robert,"Hey uh, Croatoan?" said [b]Thomas[/b] in the distance. "Isn't that the word that was found at the lost colony?" "Yeah, I think you're right," said [b]Ashley[/b].

After another minute, several pairs of footsteps began to approach, loud enough for everyone to hear. They would be here soon.

Alex has his rifle ready to shoot. He tries to work out if the footsteps are human or not; they aren't running and there's only several; that could be a good sign.

10:17 AM
In the quarters-
"It looks like there was some kind of fight here," said Thomas's voice from the meeting room.

A large group of people entered the hall. Horst and Buzz led the way, Horst dragging the blonde woman they had found in the cell and pointing a pistol at her. He also had a bulletproof vest on over his clothes and an assault rifle slung on his back. Buzz carried one of the crates of weapons and had an assault rifle now as well. They were followed by Earl, Ashley, and Thomas carrying the sealed crate. Mutt and Flip brought up the rear, Mutt carrying the last crate and Flip pulling Rosie with one hand and carrying a pistol in the other. Horst and Flip also still had shotguns slung over their shoulders. Most of them didn't notice the people hidden in the chambers, but Buzz had sharp eyes. This was a long room with a hallway at the other end leading further inside. The room contained eight small subdivisions that resembled cubicles, four on each side.

"Smart of you to hide," he said. "Don't mind us, we're just passing through. I wouldn't try anything if I were you."

Thomas assumes Buzz is talking to Charlie and the rest of the group from earlier, given they were the only other ones who knew about this place.

"Yeah, uh, you can't go back up there. Hammond went crazy and tried to burn us all alive. Looks like this way's the only way out now."

Alex steps out from the furthest alcove, his rifle pointing at the new group.
"No, don't mind us either. We are heading out this way too. Why don't you take point and we'll follow on behind; cover your rear. You won't have to worry what's creeping up behind you then.

By the way, what's been going on down here? There was a woman alive in a cryo chamber just in that alcove and then she died."

10:18 AM
In the quarters-
"That bastard tried to kill me," muttered Earl. "My own brother-in-law!"

"Beats me what's going on down here," said Horst. "Never been here before. You got any ideas?"

Earl shrugged. "Me neither. I never went below the hatch. Ask Hammond. If we ever catch up to him, I'll hold him down while you cut off some more of his fingers."

"It'll be my pleasure." He nodded to Alex. "You and your friends are welcome to follow us, just watch where you point that thing. We've got itchy trigger fingers and lightning reflexes. If that gun goes off, it won't be the only one that does. Come on, let's go." He dragged Kerry onward down the hall, keeping her on his right side as a shield in case Alex or someone else decided to fire. Buzz went alongside him. Then Earl, Ashley, and Thomas followed with their crate, and finally Mutt, Flip, and Rosie.

In the upper hallway-
The hall went past the quarters and down a short flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs, on the left side, was a door labeled "Project Manager's Office."

Reinforcements make Thomas feel slightly less pessimistic about all of this, even if most of them are not armed. He continues moving forward, hoping that Horst will do as well and not get sidetracked by sticking around this place any longer than necessarily. It gives him the creeps.

"Before we go on there's something I have to do." Alex says to the others as Horst moves on. He smiles grimly at Thomas and the other prisoners as they pass; at least they were alive and protected. For now.
Once they have moved on he says,
"That dead woman in the alcove; we need to make sure she stays dead with a bullet in her head." He goes into the alcove with his rifle.

10:19 AM
In the quarters-
Everyone came out of their quarters and into the hall while Alex headed into the woman's quarters. "Yeah, there's something unnatural about her," said Bud as he passed Alex on the way out. "She's already starting to decompose. A stiff doesn't get like that right away after dying."

"I'd be curious to do an autopsy," said Duke, "but I don't think we've got time for that. It also might not be safe."

"I found something in the cubicle where I hid," said Alice, her voice sounding frail. "There was a family photo, and there were notes written in a book said that Kirby killed himself, and that they'd made a significant discovery. He also said he was in charge now, so it must have been Samuel Niedler. He also was afraid one of them was infected with something."

"I found a family picture in mine, too," said Beth, "and a wedding ring. Going by the name, he must have been Patrick Craig."

OOC,[b]Alex[/b], please roll Rifle if you want to shoot the dead woman in the head. You can press the barrel to her head to guarantee a hit, but you still need to roll in case of a Malfunction.

In the upper hallway-
Horst wasn't in the mood to waste any time either. He led the way downstairs, ignoring the office door.

In the lower hallway-
Everyone could see that the hallway stretched on ahead for some distance. On either side was a large open door and a huge glass window showing laboratories in states of disarray. Both doors had airtight seals on them, but they had been left open. At the far end of the hall, there were two smaller doors. One, on the right side, was closed, but the door at the opposite end of the hall stood open.

"I--Infected?" Thomas says. "Maybe that thing that's making the dead come back to life started here and got out?" The fact that they were now being forced to walk through this place did not inspire confidence. Still, at least Kerry had made it. Right?

He continues to follow Horst.

Alex went back into the alcove and put his rifle to her head. She was already looking several days old; maybe the cryochamber accelerated the decomposition. Or something. He grimaced with distaste and pulled the trigger.

Rifle,[dice]0[/dice]

10:20 AM
In the quarters-
The dead woman remained motionless as Alex blew out her brains. It didn't look like she'd ever be getting back up again. The corpse's decay was already becoming apparent.

"Can we get out of here now?" asked Lynne, suppressing a shiver.

In the lower hallway-
A single rifle shot rang out from back upstairs.

"Either that, or there's some other infection down here," said Ashley. "Either way, I don't like it."

Horst ignored the lab doors and made a beeline for the end of the hall. The closed door on the right and the open one at the end of the hall were both made of metal. Everyone passed through the door at the end.

In the decontamination chamber-
Beyond the door was the decontamination chamber, which was fairly high-tech for the early 1960's. There was another door at the other end, and both doors resembled airlock doors, except for the fact that they were both open at the same time. They looked like they could be sealed, however. The chamber was capable of holding up to all nine of them if they were tightly crammed in. It had a variety of sprays and checks for biological, chemical, and even radiological contamination. A Geiger counter was present to allow people to check each other for radiation. There were also about a dozen outfits resembling space suits from the early U.S. space program, each with a nametag. They were enclosed in rubbery plastic and had oxygen masks, air hoses, air tanks, and other apparatus. Horst led the way inside with Kerry, who started to look alarmed, and everyone else squeezed inside. There were also a long rod-shaped device that resembled a cattle prod and an improvised flamethrower lying on the floor.

OOC,Everyone entering the decontamination chamber may roll Spot Hidden.

"Yes, let's move out, same order as before." Alex takes point and follows the direction of the other group.

Spot Hidden 44%,[dice]0[/dice]

"Fuhrer, it looks like Kerry's alarmed at being in this room. Maybe there's something dangerous ahead? Do we want to put on the suits? She made it through here without one, so maybe we don't need them-- but it's the most emotion she's sown so far. Besides, uh, screaming."

"We should probably take the weapons too, jus tin case we run into anymore of those things. With your permission of course, sir."

10:21 AM
In the upper hallway-
Alex led his group past the quarters and into the hall beyond. Ahead was a short flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs, on the left side, was a door labeled "Project Manager's Office."

In the decontamination chamber-
"Look, there's burns on a few of the suits!" said Ashley. She pointed out one with a nametag that read "Reagan," which had a hole burned in one of its gloves as if by a strong acid. Suits labeled "Craig" and "Niedler" had similar burns in their boots. "They're burned clear through."

"I see 'em," said Earl. "Guess they weren't much protection for the poor schmucks who wore 'em."

"They look awfully bulky too," said Horst, coming to a decision. "Leave the suits. Buzz, grab the weapons and stow them in your crate. Then follow me."

"You got it, Fuhrer," said Buzz, hurrying to obey. Horst led the way through the open door at the far end of the chamber, dragging his hostage.

OOC,[b]Earl[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the decontamination chamber: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Rosie[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the decontamination chamber: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Ashley[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (30% skill) in the decontamination chamber: [dice]2[/dice] [b]Horst[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the decontamination chamber: [dice]3[/dice] [b]Flip[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (37% skill) in the decontamination chamber: [dice]4[/dice] [b]Buzz[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (51% skill) in the decontamination chamber: [dice]5[/dice] [b]Mutt[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (54% skill) in the decontamination chamber: [dice]6[/dice]

In the shaft room-
This room was small. Its only feature besides the door back to the decontamination chamber was an industrial elevator in the center at the top of a shaft leading straight down. A continuous steel rail stretched from the ceiling down the shaft, and the elevator was designed to ride along it, operated by a series of cables and electrical lines. Cables and gears were attached to the ceiling above the elevator. The elevator was a platform that looked identical to the one that had brought them down into the facility from the prison level, except it was operated by switches rather than buttons. A switch on a gear box could be used to send the elevator up or down, and similar switches were both outside the elevator and on it. The elevator could hold up to six people, though it would be a tight squeeze. It appeared to be in full working order.

Kerry looked at the elevator in abject horror and began to scream again. Horst rolled his eyes. "Don't you start that again!" he barked. "I don't care how scared you are, that's the only way home. Whatever's down there, it ain't worse than me."

"The demons..." said Flip.

"I don't want to hear any more about any f***ing demons!"

Thomas wasn't sure what was down there could be worse than Horst, but he keeps his mouth shut. He reminds himself they had numbers on their side.

Alex ducks into the manager's office to check it is clear and to see if there might be anything as a clue to this facility.

spot hidden,[dice]0[/dice]

10:22 AM
In the project manager's office-
Alex opened the door and entered the project manager's office while the others waited outside. This was actually two rooms, a small office where meetings could take place and bedroom at the back much like one of the cubicles in the quarters area, complete with hibernation chamber. The first thing he noticed in the office was a man's skeleton lying on the floor. There was a small hole in the middle of his forehead and a larger one at the back of his skull. He was familiar enough with the effects of guns to recognize bullet wounds. The entry wound was the one in the forehead, and the exit wound was the one at the back. The wound appeared to be self-inflicted, but there was no sign of the gun he had apparently used. The floor of the room also had what looked like rat droppings.

A quick search revealed a message carved into the desk that read: "General Grey has locked us down to face our maker. God protect us." The desk also had an old reel-to-reel tape recorder, but the battery was long since dead. It looked like it took a standard 9-Volt. In the filing cabinet, he found a reel of tape. There was a picture on the desk of a man in his fifties, rather heavy set with spectacles, with his wife and two children. There were a number of books on the table as well, mostly of a scientific nature, involving organic life found underground.

Near the bed were some records, but most of them just chronicled the experiments being performed. Much of the work involved biological tests on various substances found below and rock samples. The reports were largely hand written but were becoming increasingly unintelligible with each date.

In the shaft room-
Kerry struggled and continued to shriek as Horst tried to drag her onto the elevator. "It's not gonna hold us all anyway," he said. "We'll have to take two trips. Buzz, you stay up here with me and we'll knock some sense into her. The rest of you, ride that thing down and send it back up after you get off."

Earl, Ashley, and Thomas got on the elevator with their crate, followed by Mutt with his crate and Flip with Rosie. Flip pulled the switch, and the elevator started to descend into the depths below.The elevator's electric lights barely penetrated the gloom of the shaft.

"Put down the crate and hold her, Buzz," said Horst from above. Kerry's screams continued, fading as the elevator went down into the abyss.

OOC,Everyone, please roll Listen. The base skill is 25%.

Thomas shuffles and feels guilty. He's a coward. He should be trying to help Kerry, but what could he do? The world was going to hell and Horst and his men had all the guns.

He looks over at Ashley and gives her a slight smile, trying to convince both her and himself that things would all be okay.

Listen 25%,[dice]0[/dice]

OOC,[b]Earl[/b], [b]Rosie[/b], [b]Ashley[/b], [b]Thomas[/b], [b]Horst[/b], and [b]Flip[/b] are moving to the thread linked below:

Into the Abyss

Alex looks at the records and the clothing in the photograph to get an idea of how long ago the skeleton was last alive. He pockets the cassette player in the hope of finding a 9V battery soon. He wondered what happened to the rats. He also grabs a handful of the records and takes them outside,
"Anyone hot on biology? These records detail what experiments they were doing down here; might be worth knowing what we are up against. as it seems something gor out of hand.
"A General Grey locked down the facility, trapping the scientists down here with whatever it was. The guy in the office shot himself Rather than face it". He keeps these last thoughts to himself rather than worry the civilians.

10:23 AM
In the project manager's office-
"That would be me," said Duke, stepping into the office. He whistled when he saw the skeleton. "Yeah, this guy's been dead a long, long time. More than fifty years, maybe sixty or more. He killed himself, all right." He glanced at the books. "Underground life, huh? Well, mushrooms can sometimes be found underground. They don't need sunlight. Worms and such can live underground too, and there are plenty of larger burrowing animals, like moles. I don't think it was a mole that had him scared enough to do himself in, though. What they're talking about in these reports doesn't make any sense. They're worried about some sort of infection from underground, but there's nothing I know of that it could be. Still, who knows what lives in the depths of the Earth where nobody has seen?"

The clothing styles in the photograph were from around 1960. The reports were also dated in the earlier 1960s.

OOC,[b]Duke[/b]'s Biology roll (55% skill) in the project manager's office: [dice]0[/dice] Everyone, please roll Listen. The base skill is 25%.

"Wouldnt an infection have caused people to be put into an infirmary before they died. I wonder where all the other bodies are; there were a lot of people supposedly trapped down here." Says Alex.

Listen,[dice]0[/dice]

10:24 AM
In the upper hallway-
Duke came back out of the office. "Yeah, there were nine people or so down here," he said. "We found Judith Reagan in one of those capsules. Maybe the others found another way out of here."

"I heard screaming and shooting in the distance below us," said Robert. "Someone's also running this way. Barefoot, from the sound of it."

"Let's go check it out," said Bud.

"Your funeral," said Rita. "When there's screaming and shooting, sensible people run the other direction."

OOC,[b]Rita[/b]'s Listen roll (25% base skill) in the upper hallway: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Charlie[/b]'s Listen roll (67% skill) in the upper hallway: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Lynne[/b]'s Listen roll (61% skill) in the upper hallway: [dice]2[/dice] [b]Alice[/b]'s Listen roll (25% base skill) in the upper hallway: [dice]3[/dice] [b]Bud[/b]'s Listen roll (45% skill) in the upper hallway: [dice]4[/dice] [b]Duke[/b]'s Listen roll (35% skill) in the upper hallway: [dice]5[/dice] [b]Beth[/b]'s Listen roll (75% skill) in the upper hallway: [dice]6[/dice] [b]Robert[/b]'s Listen roll (50% skill) in the upper hallway: [dice]7[/dice]

ooc,'Wall of fire'? Did I miss something?!

"Barefoot means either one of the women prisoners, a zombie... or something else. Get back down the hallway so we have distance to the target; and then we wait." Alex directs everyone back the way they came whilst keeping their first formation (So Bud now leading) He then readies his rifle to await what's coming.

10:25 AM
In the quarters-
Everyone retreated down the corridor. A woman's screams in the distance could be heard getting closer, and they sounded like Kerry's. This was confirmed when she reached the top of the stairs leading down at a run, a terrified expression on her face. "There are two more people coming," said Robert. "They're wearing shoes."

OOC,The "wall of fire" was something I thought your group found out about when the skinheads and their captives returned from trying to leave, but looking back, I can see they didn't actually specify how [b]Hammond[/b] tried to kill them. In that case, you don't actually know about it. I'll edit.

In the lower hallway-
Earl and Rosie continued to flee, following Kerry toward the stairs.

"Let her pass; someone try to calm her down. Be ready; the next two might be skinheads or zombies." Alex lets her pass and then aims at the next ones to appear.

10:26 AM
In the lower hallway-
Earl and Rosie fled up the stairs.

In the quarters-
Kerry ran screaming down the hall and past the people there without paying them any heed other than to get around them. Earl and Rosie ran up the stairs at the end of the hall and came into view.

"It's all right, you're safe now," said Beth, but Kerry just ignored her and kept running.

OOC,[b]Beth[/b]'s Psychoanalysis roll (1% base skill) to bring [b]Kerry[/b] to her senses: [dice]0[/dice] Everyone may roll Spot Hidden. The base skill is 25%.

"Everyone start to fall back; slowly, the way we came." Alex is concerned why these people are running; is it just from Horst and his crew? Where was that young lad, Thomas?

Spot hidden,[dice]0[/dice]

10:27 AM
In the upper hallway-
Earl and Rosie kept running, into the quarters.

In the quarters-
Alex and the others retreated into the meeting room, along with Kerry who continued to flee in terror.

OOC,[b]Rita[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the quarters: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Charlie Moon[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the quarters: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Lynne[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (67% skill) in the quarters: [dice]2[/dice] [b]Alice[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the quarters: [dice]3[/dice] [b]Bud[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (55% skill) in the quarters: [dice]4[/dice] [b]Duke[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (30% skill) in the quarters: [dice]5[/dice] [b]Beth[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (50% skill) in the quarters: [dice]6[/dice] [b]Robert[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (50% skill) in the quarters: [dice]7[/dice]

In the meeting room-
"Whatever happened to Earl and Rosie, I don't think the skinheads did it," said Lynne. "They've got black goo on their clothes around waist level. It looks like it's burned through. You can see part of Rosie's midriff. Mine's sexier, though."

"Yeah, I see it," said Beth. "Rosie, what happened?"

"There was a monster in the elevator shaft!" screamed Rosie. "It could change shape, and bullets didn't hurt it! It ate Ashley and one of the skinheads and crushed Thomas! The other skinheads killed it with electricity and fire! We ran away while they were busy!"

"Okay, you escaped, you did well; now try to calm down." Alex says soothingly. "Bud can you stick your head out and watch the corridor? Now, Rosie do you think the monster can get up the elevator shaft?" The monster sounds far fetched but then today hasn't exactly been ordinary so Alex is prepared to take her news at face value. "Earl, can you tell me exactly how Horst killed it with electricity?"

10:28 AM
In the meeting room-
Kerry ran on to the lower hatch chamber, still screaming.

"It rode all the way up with us on the elevator!" said Rosie, bursting into the meeting room with Earl.

"There were a couple of makeshift weapons in the room just before the elevator shaft," said Earl, calmer now, "a cattle prod-lookin' thing and a flamethrower. Horst used the flamethrower and Buzz had the electric prod. That thing got real big after it ate people. It's dead, but there might be more of them. I think we should leave the shaft to the skinheads. Let's get upstairs, seal the hatch, and take our chances with the fire."

"What fire?" asked Bud, watching the hall. "All clear so far."

"That jerkoff Hammond went and poured diesel fuel down the stairs, then ignited it when we were in the warehouse! Bastard damn near killed me! If I find him..."

Alex looks around the group of disheveled civilians under his care; it would be irresponsible to continue even to retrieve those weapons which could prove useful. At least they had some knowledge now and it was essential to stay alive to use it.
"Okay, I suggest we go back; put some distance between us and the monsters; hopefully the skinheads will keep them occupied and hopefully the monsters don't know how to operate an elevator. Earl is right, we'll have to take our chances with the fire; it can't burn for long once the fuel has burnt off. Everyone happy to do that? Same order as before, Bud take point and I'll bring up the rear."

10:29 AM
In the meeting room-
Bud led the way back to the hatch chamber.

In the lower hatch chamber-
The others arrived in time to see Kerry riding up in the elevator, screaming in panic. The elevator reached the top of the shaft by the time they got to the bottom.

"The dumb bitch!" Alex pushes past the others, "Watch the passage behind us!" He shouts and then tries to climb up the ladder quickly hoping to prevent Kerry from sabotaging the elevator.

ooc,Is there room for him to do this or does the elevator take up the whole width of the shaft?

Alex looks up the shaft: there is no room for him. Instead he keeps pressing the button, hoping to recall the elevator before anything happens to it.
"Let's hope the dame is too crazy to think beyond flight."

10:30 AM
In the lower hatch chamber-
"Go easy on her," said Beth. "She's been through hell."

The elevator came back down, this time without Kerry. The hatch at the top of the shaft was still open. As before, the elevator would only hold six of them at a time.

"That's something at least." Says Alex as the elevator returns to the floor. He turns to Bud and Rita.

"Time to choose; zombies or monsters? That fire should have kept the entrance clear so it should be safe enough up there. And bullets down zombies at least. Load up and then you go first with four more to secure the top room. Send the elevator straight back down once you're up".

10:31 AM
In the lower hatch chamber-
Earl, Rosie, Robert, and Beth joined Bud and Rita on the elevator. Earl activated it, and the elevator slowly rose.

In the upper hatch chamber-
The elevator reached the top of the shaft.

Alex waits, watching down the corridor towards the lower levels and listens hard.

Listen,[dice]0[/dice]

10:32 AM
In the upper hatch chamber-
Bud sent the elevator back down after everyone got off of it.

In the lower hatch chamber-
Even over the sound of the elevator, Alex could hear there was nothing but silence in the lower level. Above, he could hear Kerry screaming in the distance. After the elevator reached the bottom, her screams took on an even more terrified tone.

"What's happening up there? Quick, let's hurry!" Alex waits until they are all on the lift and then presses the button to ascend.

10:33 AM
In the lower hatch chamber-
Everyone piled onto the lift, and Alex pushed the button. It began to rise.

In the upper hatch chamber-
Earl, Rita, Rosie, Bud, Robert, and Beth hurried down the hall after Kerry and into the common area as the elevator reached the top with everyone else.

OOC,Everyone may roll Spot Hidden. The base skill is 25%.

"Where are they going? They are supposed to be covering the lift!" Mutters Alex as he steps off the lift, scanning the area.

Spot hidden,[dice]0[/dice]

10:34 AM
In the common area-
"Those rats that were in the cell are chasing that girl!" Bud called back, leading the way into the shower room with his gun ready. "They've got red eyes!"

OOC,[b]Earl[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the common area: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Rita[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the common area: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Rosie[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) in the common area: [dice]2[/dice] [b]Bud[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (55% skill) in the common area: [dice]3[/dice] [b]Beth[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (50% skill) in the common area: [dice]4[/dice] [b]Robert[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (50% skill) in the common area: [dice]5[/dice]

In the upper hatch chamber-
Alex's group hurried after the others into the common area, though Alex couldn't see past them,

"Everyone without a gun, fall back, watch the rear! Weapons ready!" Alex allows people to run past him back towards the lift whilst he focuses his rifle forward towards the cells.

"I put a bullet in one's head and the other was manacled to the wall!" He exclaims. "I guess you have to shoot them after they've become a zombie!
Dammit, that's one bullet I won't get back. And that woman in the pod isn't necessarily dead either then.
Let's deal with these ones first. Did they get Kirsty?""

10:35 AM
In the common area-
"No, it wasn't the corpse, it was the rats eating the corpse!" called Bud. "That infected them! They haven't got her yet, she's running from them!" He hurried onward into the shower room while everyone else fell back into the hatch chamber.

"Holy smoke, zombie rats!" Alex wonders if someone started the fire to stop the rats. This is the direst of news as the rats would be almost impossible to shoot and there could be hundreds of them. Alex tries to remember if he's seen anything down here that could be used as a flamethrower.
He looks around at the civilians that he is trying to protect; nothing in his military training has prepared him for this and he is at a loss what to do; other than deal with the most immediate threat.
"I'm going forward with Bud and anyone else who has a weapon and feels like swinging at some rats. The rest of you wait here and stay alert." He shrugs, "We can only hope there's not many to deal with."

10:36 AM
In the shower room-
"I only saw two!" Bud called back. "Kerry made it through the door at the other end of the guard room. It's now shut, and they're stuck on this side." He hurried through into the cell block.

In the upper hatch chamber-
"I'm not going anywhere near those rats," Rita insisted. "I'll stay here and protect the others." Earl slammed the hatch shut and sealed it.

"I'm with you," said Duke, hefting his baseball bat as he accompanied Alex.

In the common area-
Alex and Duke ran through the common area.

OOC,[b]Alex[/b], please roll Spot Hidden. The base skill is 25%.

Alex nods to Duke, "Keep your eyes peeled, let's go!" He moves onwards, scanning the floor.

Spot hidden,25[dice]0[/dice] Noooooo! How can I roll 100 twice in a row?!

10:37 AM
In the upper hatch chamber-
"There," said Earl. "Now nothing can come up and surprise us. Never should have opened that damn hatch in the first place. It was sealed for a reason."

In the shower room-
Alex and Duke proceeded into the shower room. Alex wasn't able to see the rats with Bud blocking his field of view.

OOC,[b]Duke[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (30% skill) in the shower room: [dice]0[/dice]

In the cell block-
Bud rushed into the interrogation room and took up a firing stance.

Alex follows Bud ready and alert. "Ready to hit a home run with a zombie rat, Duke?"

10:38 AM
In the upper hatch chamber-
Alice slumped against the wall and slid down. "I don't feel so good..." she moaned.

In the shower room-
"I hope they're dead before we even get close to them," said Duke as he and Alex entered the cell block. "I don't like the idea of them trying to bite me."

In the interrogation room-
Bud squeezed off a shot at one of the rats in the guard room, grazing it. Both rats turned around and began to scurry toward him. He fired again, blowing it apart. He shot at the other rat as it scrambled into the interrogation room, but the bullet missed very badly. The rat reached him and tried to nibble at his foot, but his shoe leather protected him. Then he put a bullet in its head and it lay still. "That was too close," he said, reloading his revolver. "Down to my last six. Hope we don't run into any more trouble."

OOC,[b]Bud[/b]'s Handgun roll (65% / 2[head shot] = 32.5% skill) shooting at a zombie rat, shot 1 of 2, round 1): [dice]0[/dice] Damage to zombie rat from .38 bullet: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Bud[/b]'s Handgun roll (65% / 2[head shot] = 32.5% skill) shooting at a zombie rat, shot 2 of 2, round 1): [dice]2[/dice] Damage to zombie rat from .38 bullet: [dice]3[/dice] [b]Bud[/b]'s Handgun roll (65% / 2[head shot] = 32.5% skill) shooting at a zombie rat, shot 1 of 2, round 2): [dice]4[/dice] Zombie rat's Bite attack (30% chance) on [b]Bud[/b]: [dice]5[/dice] [b]Bud[/b]'s Handgun roll (65% / 2[head shot] x 2[point blank] = 65% skill) shooting at a zombie rat, shot 2 of 2, round 2): [dice]6[/dice] Damage to zombie rat from .38 bullet: [dice]7[/dice] 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:

In Too Deep