Cinemaplex Car Park

[Laraqua]

Lionel's mobile vibrates.

[Mr. Handy]

Lionel answers the phone. "Hello?" he says. "Sarah, is that you? Are you all right?"

"I'm better than all right, Daddy!" gushes Sarah on the other end of the phone. "A helicopter came and landed on the roof and evacuated some of us! There's also a brave little girl named Dahlia and a child welfare worker named Aidan. The pilot just said we're going to a nearby military outpost. Maybe once they drop us off they can come back for you and the others at the cinemaplex."

Lionel sighs with relief. "That's wonderful news, angel! I'm so glad you got out of there. We're about to head for the superstore now. I'll ask the man who works there if there's a way to access the roof and if a helicopter could land on it. There are 49 of us here, not counting Mark. He appears to have buggered off. Technically fifty, as there's a pregnant woman who's near to term. I'll have to stay with her in case she goes into labor."

"Mark..." says Sarah, twinging from the memory. "That was the ambulance driver's name..."

"This is a different fellow, but that reminds me. I think I know what those mushroom things were, but I don't think you'll like it."

"Probably not, but you'd best tell me anyway. We'll need to know."

"I believe they're some form of eggs that contain the parasites' offspring. That must be how the creatures reproduce."

"Oh, God. No wonder it felt like...you know." Sarah pauses. "It's a good thing I was wearing protection."

Lionel winces. Even though he can't see her, his daughter's anguish is obvious and he thanks God that she was spared such a horrible fate. "Quite. We're getting ready to leave in a few minutes. Anything else new at your end?"

"Gosh, where do I start? Well, after I got off the phone with you earlier, I went with Leroy and Joel to the kitchen. I got a bigger knife there, but we didn't have a chance to gather any food or water. Karlene came after us with a knife. It must have been one of those parasite-infested people who got her and dragged her out of the ambulance earlier, only she didn't have a mask on. We retreated into the kitchen and locked the door, then left by another door and managed to get upstairs." Sarah continues recounting her terrifying ordeal.

"I'm so proud of you, Sarah," says Lionel after Sarah describes her first desparate race to the roof, arriving just in time to keep the chopper from leaving her and the others trapped there. He listens with alarm when she tells him about her second, more terrifying run, chased by some unknown creature that had taken out an armed policeman almost effortlessly.

Sarah takes a deep breath after all her talking and stifles a yawn. "I should probably let you go now. I love you so much, Daddy."

"I love you too, sweetheart. I'll call you back when we're safely in the superstore. Call me when you get to the outpost, or any time at all if you want to talk."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later. Bye!"

Lionel hangs up and puts his phone away. "That was my daughter, Sarah. A police helicopter evacuated her and a couple of other survivors from the hospital, and they're on their way to a nearby military outpost. I'm hoping they can make further trips to ferry us to the outpost too, but I can't be certain they can do it. A lot depends on how much fuel they have available and how many people they can support with their supplies." He turns to the superstore employee. "Do you know if a helicopter could land safely on the superstore's roof, and if there's a way to get up there from inside?"

[Laraqua]

There is a mechanical sound that arises and falls, a haunting wail, terrible in its devastating howl that comes from outside. The sounds of an engine come from above, rising and falling, a shuddering, chuttering sound. The others duck instinctively, confused.

OOC: Know roll for the mechanical sound. History roll for the engine sound recognition.

[Mr. Handy]

Is that the helicopter already? thinks Lionel. "I recognize that sound!" he says. "And the engine, too!"

[Laraqua]

It all seems impossible. The low, anxious wailing of an air raid siren. The harsh notes of a German bomber cruising overhead. Outside it is still deathly dark. The other survivors huddle about nervously.

[Mr. Handy]

"Great Scott!" blurts out Lionel. "Jennifer, turn off all the lights quick! That was an air raid siren, and that aircraft flying overhead is no helicopter. It's a bloody German bomber from the Blitz! It seems impossible, but that's what it is! The war was winding down when I was born, but my father told me all about it. We all need to get to a shelter stat. You mentioned there was some room below ground?"

[Laraqua]

There was light and sound. There was pain and misery. There was movement, a giant surge, a leap, coiling and springing, then settling and more pain. The point of contact was yards ago. The world keeps spinning. Light and sound. Screams. Wails. Light and sound. All about it falls. How did it come? Sound and fury. Something cackles, crackles, screeching overhead. A giant whump. All around, his vision starts to clear. His ears ring. He can't hear. Everything dull and light.

Roll Luck. On a success, take 1d4 damage and find yourself in a surviving doorway, surrounded by rubble. On a failure, take 1d8+1 damage and find yourself pinned beneath the rubble.

[Laraqua]

Don't post!

Cut and paste. Post elsewhere.

In a mome I'll show.