IC-Hold Down the Fort(various)

[Mr. Handy]

Z-Day - 10:09 AM Mountain Daylight Time - At the motel
On the motel balcony, southwest corner-
Jenny remained on the balcony with the rifle, keeping watch. She saw Gary driving around the south side of the motel in the skinheads' pickup truck, pulling up behind the motel near Samantha.

Behind the motel-
Samantha peered through the open doorway, through the motel kitchen, and through another smashed open doorway into the motel lobby. Two headless corpses lay in the lobby. Gary pulled up near her in the pickup truck. Ms. Foo ran into the kitchen from the lobby, jabbering in Chinese.

OOC,[b]Samantha[/b]'s Listen roll (25% base skill) behind the motel: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Samantha[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (40% skill) behind the motel: [dice]1[/dice]

In the private room-
Cathy gnawed on her fingernails, going so far as to break the skin. Then she realized what she was doing and stopped. She removed a pill bottle from her purse, took out a pill, and swallowed it dry.

"There's someone out front, running for the motel," said Ellen.

Cathy Lathan,Your indefinite insanity is that your depression is overwhelming, and no amount of Valium will help. Not that you'll stop taking it, of course.

OOC,[b]Ellen[/b]'s Listen roll (51% skill) in the private room: [dice]2[/dice] [b]Cathy[/b]'s Listen roll (60% skill) in the private room: [dice]3[/dice] [b]Scotty[/b]'s Listen roll (25% base skill) in the private room: [dice]4[/dice]

In the motel kitchen-
Ms. Foo rushed into the kitchen as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast. Samantha was standing outside the back door, holding her shotgun. She could also hear a light truck pulling up behind the motel, and footsteps running for the front door from outside.

OOC,[b]Ms. Foo[/b]'s Listen roll (25% base skill) in the motel kitchen: [dice]5[/dice]

In the motel lobby-
"Ellen is right," said Mr. Foo. "Whoever it is, they're coming in fast. It could be another one."

Bobby turned and raced to the front door, shoving aside the rest of the barricade and throwing open the door. Michael was on the other side, his eyes blazing red. He reached for Bobby, stretching his head forward and biting off his nose!

OOC,[b]Mitchell[/b]'s Listen roll (25% base skill) in the motel lobby: [dice]6[/dice] [b]Mr. Foo[/b]'s Listen roll (58% skill) in the motel lobby: [dice]7[/dice] [b]Tony[/b]'s Listen roll (25% base skill) in the motel lobby: [dice]16[/dice] [b]Bobby[/b]'s Listen roll (25% base skill) in the motel lobby: [dice]8[/dice] Zombie [b]Michael[/b]'s Bite attack (30% chance) on [b]Bobby[/b]: [dice]9[/dice] Hit location on [b]Bobby[/b]: [dice]11[/dice] Damage to [b]Bobby[/b] from Bite attack: [dice]12[/dice] [b]Bobby[/b]'s Sanity roll (current level 46) for being bitten: [dice]13[/dice] Sanity loss: [dice]14[/dice] [b]Bobby[/b]'s Idea roll (80% stat) to avoid extended temporary insanity - failure is good: [dice]15[/dice] Zombie [b]Michael[/b]'s Grapple attack (25% chance) on [b]Bobby[/b]: [dice]10[/dice] Everyone in the lobby, or anyone who enters the lobby, please roll Sanity for seeing zombie [b]Michael[/b]. [b]Samantha[/b] also needs to roll, as she can see this. Sanity loss is 1/1D8, so you lose 1 Sanity if you succeed or 1D8 if you fail. Again, if you've lost Sanity already from seeing zombies, that reduces the maximum amount you can lose. You still roll 1D8, but if you roll over your maximum, reduce it to that maximum. If you lose 5 or more Sanity, please roll Idea. If you succeed at the Idea roll, you go temporarily insane. Otherwise, you may act freely. [b]Mitchell[/b] and [b]Bobby[/b] need not roll, as they have already lost 8 Sanity for seeing zombies. [b]Tony[/b] need not roll either, as he has already lost 7 for seeing zombies, so he will lose 1 whether he succeeds or fails. Unfortunately, [b]Bobby[/b] is huge and is blocking your line of fire on the zombie.

[Silver Priest]

"Bobby, don't!" Tony screams. But it's too late. His son surged forward and opens the door, and the thing attacks him. His screams grow louder as his son's nose was bitten off.

He wants to be a good father. He wants to run forward and save his son. But he finds himself paralyzed. Major Andrew's warning about the bite leading to the infection rings in his ears, and the truth is, he's afraid to touch his son.

So instead he just continues to scream, letting terror overwhelm him. Because when he screams he can't think, and when he does get to think he'll have to understand what just happened to his oldest son, and he really does not want to tackle that subject for as long as possible.

Mr.Handy,Aw man! What rotten luck. I'm honestly a bit bummed for ole Bobby. Assuming there's no cure I'm not sure this will be good for the Lathan clan morale. Honestly I'm torn between his son's death or reanimation making Tony into either a grizzled, jaded survivor or a Stepford like smiler who leans even harder into the awkward dad jokes and false cheer for Scotty's sake. If Bobby does die and it's alright with you, I'm probably going to have Tony autofail the San roll and take max damage if that's possible.

[Leonulf]

Jenny watches Gary pull up not far from Samantha and focuses her attention in that direction.

[aine]

sanity,[dice]0[/dice] lose 1 SAN

Samantha is, luckily, unable to see too much of the detail.
"Everyone out this way! Up the stairs!" It's going to be carnage in the lobby but she can't get a clear shot. She's aware of the truck pulling up and is glad of the slight cover it provides. "There's a zombie out the front!" She shouts to Jenny and the truck driver.

[Starspawn338]

"NO, NO, NO." Mitchell yells as the big dumb kid opened the door. "This is so messed up. We gotta go." He turns and runs for the back door.
"We gotta find some place safe."

[Starspawn338]

Gary pulls up at the back door to the motel and looks at the busted down door.

"There's a zombie out the front!"

That can't be good he thinks as he pulls the truck in front of the stairs going up on one side of the back.

OOC,I would like to block off one side of the stairs with the truck if I can. Then there is only one set of stairs on the opposite corner which goes up to the back row of rooms if I'm visualizing this correctly. I imagine that blocking the stairwell with the truck would not make it impassable but just a difficult obstacle to climb over the truck/stairs.

[Mr. Handy]

10:09:12 AM
In the private room-
"Bobby!" screamed Cathy, running into the lobby, followed by Ellen and Scotty.

In the motel lobby-
What was left of his face contorted with rage, Bobby punched Michael hard in the groin. It actually did seem to do some damage, but it didn't take him down like it might have a man. Mr. Foo barely kept his wits about him. Lunging forward with his sword, he ran the blade through Michael's cheek and out the back of his head. Michael fell to the ground, clutching feebly at Bobby as he dropped. He was still trying to crawl forward and attack, but he was much slower now. Then Bobby blinked, coming to his senses and screaming in pain.

Tony Lathan,We'll see what happens, but given the nature of the game, it's quite possible that [b]Bobby[/b] will outlive you. If he does die first, you'll roll Sanity as normal, but feel free to take it harder than the roll would indicate.

OOC,[b]Bobby[/b]'s Fist/Punch roll (50% base skill) attacking the zombie: [dice]0[/dice] Hit location: [dice]3[/dice] Damage to zombie from punch: [dice]4[/dice]+[dice]5[/dice] [b]Mr. Foo[/b]'s Sanity roll (current level 83) for seeing the zombie: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Mr. Foo[/b]'s Sword roll (64% - 5 = 59% skill) attacking the zombie, targeting the head: [dice]2[/dice] Damage to zombie's head: [dice]6[/dice] Zombie's Bite attack (30% chance) on [b]Bobby[/b]: [dice]7[/dice] Zombie's Grapple attack (25% chance) on [b]Bobby[/b]: [dice]8[/dice]

In the motel kitchen-
Ms. Foo ran out the back door, while Mitchell ran in from the lobby.

Behind the motel-
Ms. Foo emerged from the back door where Samantha stood. Gary pulled the truck up beside the northwest stairway, making it more difficult to access.

OOC,There are four stairways leading up to the baclony, one at each corner of the motel. The balcony encircles the motel completely and gives access to the upstairs rooms, all of which are either on the west side or the east side. Those are the long sides of the motel, while the north and south sides are short and have no doors.

On the motel balcony, southwest corner-
The dogs waited loyally beside Jenny.

[aine]

Samantha sees what Gary is aiming to do and she waves her appreciation. Then she steps back quickly as the old lady runs out the door, nearly knocking her over.
"Mind where you you are going can't you? Get up those stairs now!" And she pushes Mrs Foo towards the first step.

ooc,I'm assuming [b]Gary[/b] is blocking the [i]other[/i] stairs (NW?) not the one [b]Samantha[/b] came down and [b]Jenny[/b] is at the top of.(SW?)??

[Silver Priest]

Bobby's screams knock some sense into Tony. Heedless of the danger and risk of infection, he rushes forward and tries to move his son back.

"Why the heck did you do that? Dang it, this is a bad wound-- Cathy!" He calls her over to look at it.

"It bit his nose clean off.But that may actually be a good thing," he giggles, high pitched and stressed. "Now I'm no doctor, but maybe, maybe that means the infection did not have a chance to spread to the rest of his body." He waits to hear his wife's diagnosis.

Mr.Handy,I'm quite certain all of the Lathan's will live long and happy lives. With the possible exception of Bobby. I am somewhat curious if a zombie biting a part of the body off and in essence cauterizing the wound prevents the infection from spreading, since I know in some fiction immediate removal of the infected part prevents the infection. I know you can't tell me but it will be interesting to see. I'll know pretty quick if Bobby starts moaning about a fever.:P Also, I have an idea for Tony's indefinite insanity if he goes insane. How I've been playing him is an optimistic overcompensater. If he goes insane and I'm able to, I'd like to portray him as unrealistically optimistic and cheerful, using it as a coping mechanism. If for whatever reason he's forced to face reality he either has a breakdown or enters a homicidal rage against whatever is disrupting his fantasy. I'm sure you have your own ideas for Tony and don't want to step on the GM's toes, but thought I'd offer my thoughts.

[Starspawn338]

Mitchell will head out the back door and look around before deciding if he should follow Mrs.Foo up the stairs.

OOC,Is there a soda machine (or anything else that the infected won't just tear through) near the front or back door that we could use to block a stairwell?

[Starspawn338]

Gary turns off the truck, leaving the keys in the ignition. As he gets out, he readies his rifle and moves towards the stairs that Samantha is gesturing the survivors to.

"What's going on?"

OOC,Okay. I didn't realize the balcony ran around the short sides of the building. That makes things more difficult with 4 stairs to block. Is there a way up to the roof on the motel?

[Mr. Handy]

10:10 AM
In the motel lobby-
Cathy and Tony pulled Bobby away from the door, and Cathy lay him down on a couch that had been moved out of the way that had formerly been part of the front door's barricade. While she applied pressure and stopped the bleeding, Scotty ran forward and, hefting his baseball bat, smashed in Michael's skull like Gallagher splattering a watermelon. "Yeah!" he cheered. "Another kill!"

"My baby!" cried Cathy, not responding to Tony. "My poor baby!"

"I was just so mad at them," Bobby said when he finally recovered enough. "All I saw was red. It's like I Hulked out."

"Impressive, young man," said Mr. Foo with a bow. "Let's get the barricade back in place on the front door. There could be more of them. We're running out of furniture in the lobby, but there will be more in the motel rooms. Ellen and I have keys." He closed and locked the front door, and then he worked with Scotty to start blockading it.

"I'll check on your wife and get started on the back door," said Ellen, heading through the kitchen and out the back door.

Tony Lathan,The wound wasn't cauterized, as it was still actually bleeding. It's good that you have some input into your character's indefinite insanity. I'll keep your ideas in mind in the likely event that it happens.

OOC,[b]Cathy[/b]'s Medicine roll (75% skill) treating [b]Bobby[/b]'s wound: [dice]0[/dice] HP recovered by [b]Bobby[/b] (maximum of 2): [dice]3[/dice] [b]Scotty[/b]'s Large Club roll (55% - 5 = 50% skill) attacking the zombie, targeting the head: [dice]1[/dice] Damage to zombie's head: [dice]4[/dice] [b]Mr. Foo[/b] and [b]Scotty[/b]'s STR x 5 roll (7 + 8 = 15 x 5 = 75% stat) barricading the front door: [dice]5[/dice]

Behind the motel-
Mitchell got outside, but he couldn't see anything that could be used as a barricade in plain sight. Ellen emerged behind him, keys in hand as Gary reached their position. "We'll find furniture in the rooms we can use," she said.

Ms. Foo made her way to the southwest stairs.

OOC,That's a correct assumption. [b]Gary[/b] parked his truck by the northwest corner. I mentioned it in the last update. [b]Mitchell[/b]'s Luck roll (65% stat) to find something to use for a barricade: [dice]2[/dice]

On the motel balcony, southwest corner-
Jenny saw Ms. Foo at the bottom of the stairway nearest her. The dogs perked up as she approached.

[Silver Priest]

"Is he going to be alright?" Tony asks his wife before turning back to Bobby. "How are you feeling, champ?"

"I'll go update Major Andrews on what happened," He tells the others once he's responded. "I'm not sure how long we have until the rest of the pack arrive, but hopefully we'll have a few more guns by that point. I'll be back in just a second, Bobby." He tries to smile reassuringly. "Scotty, be good and listen to Mr.Foo. Don't go running off, now."

He heads into Mr. Foo's room and takes a deep breath. It was important not to assume the worst; no good ever came of that. Besides, Cathy was a darn good doctor and had stopped the bleeding. Maybe things would be okay.

He picks up the microphone. "Hello, Major?"

[aine]

"Hey, Gary you're still alive then." Samantha greets him. "What happened to the rest of the gang, did they find the skinheads? As to here, one zombie has just broken through the front door and two broke in at the back here; they are really strong, the barricades didn't stop them.
I think these two came out of that long grass there; it's not good, they got right in under cover.

Samantha gestures to the stairs to Mitchell. and then moves that way herself. "We'd better all get upstairs fast; there's still people inside, I don't know what they're doing but I'm not waiting for them."
Samantha will run up the stairs, swap her gun with Jenny and then look out over the field to spot more zombies.

[Leonulf]

Jenny meets Samantha to swap weapons "I was looking over the balcony, I couldn't see the Zombie, but did hear you shouting. Can we block off the corridors, the stairs might be tricky for any dead to come up making it easier to pick them off. If the dead really are coming back to life then we are going to have more than the odd one here and there to worry about - we need to think long term, especially with those damned alien bugs."

[Starspawn338]

Ellen emerged behind him, keys in hand. "We'll find furniture in the rooms we can use," she said.

Mitchell nods and heads up the stairs with Samantha and Ellen.

[Starspawn338]

"Hey, Gary you're still alive then." Samantha greets him. "What happened to the rest of the gang, did they find the skinheads? As to here, one zombie has just broken through the front door and two broke in at the back here; they are really strong, the barricades didn't stop them.
I think these two came out of that long grass there; it's not good, they got right in under cover.

"They're still inside the diner as far as I know." Gary says. "I still think we should head up to the skinhead's compound and free the hostages they took but I can't do it alone."

[Mr. Handy]

10:11 AM
In the motel lobby-
"I feel like hell, Dad," said Bobby. "It burns!"

Cathy helped Bobby up from the couch before Mr. Foo and Scotty shoved it up against the front door. She put a hand on his forehead. "You do have a fever," she said, fighting back tears. "That's bad."

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

In the private room-
"Good to hear from you, Mr. Lathan," replied Major Andrews. "You'll be pleased to hear that the choppers are wheels up and on their way to you. What's your situation?"

OOC,[b]Tony[/b], please roll Listen. The base skill is 25%.

Behind the motel-
Samantha followed Ms. Foo up the stairs. Mitchell, Ellen, and Gary made their way to the bottom of the stairs.

On the motel balcony, southwest corner-
Ms. Foo and Samantha reached the top of the stairs, and Jenny could see Mitchell and Ellen arrive at the bottom. She exchanged weapons with Samantha.

[Silver Priest]

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

Hearing this, Tony's heart sinks. He's no doctor, but that kind of fever did not sound good. He looks helplessly at his wife. "Can you get it down, Cath? There's an ice machine around here, right? Maybe that might help? Or maybe Bobby should strip. Starve a fever, right?" He laughs again, but it's not the laugh of a balanced man.

"I'll be right back. Have to report in." And he heads into Mr. Foo's private room.

***

"A third runner got in here. Um, we killed it. My younger son did, actually. Seemed rather nonchalant about the entire situation. But my older son, he uh, he was bitten. Took his nose clean off. He's still talking and alert, and we've stopped the bleeding. But he's complaining about a fever."

"Cathy, that's my wife, she has some medical training. She's stopped his bleeding and he might be stable. But I think he's infected, Major. Please tlel me your boys have some sort of cure, or way to prevent him from becoming one of them." Tony's fighting back tears at this point, but he forces himself to remain optimistic. "The good news is, my wife's been touching him and she seems fine. Maybe touch does not spread the condition?"

[Starspawn338]

OOC,Actually, a couple posts back, I said I got out of the truck and headed for the stairs where Samantha was.

Gary heads to the stairs with the others, rifle out and ready.