IC- Zombie Apocalypse Chapter 2- The Quick and the Undead

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On the northwest corner of the hotel, balcony level:
McCain got on his radio, "Thayer and Ortega, belay that order. Bring Lerux to see me and Lt. Malone ASAP." Getting off his radio he told Duran, "I do not trust Lerux. He was pissed when I had him arrested and he might want to cause me harm. Ergo the civilians near the hotel. This way I can keep my eye on him and maybe shut him in a room locked someplace until later on."
He then got on the radio and said to Mahone, "Lt. As soon as I get my few men back to me we will go on and plant traps. Right now Thayer and Ortega are on the east side of the balcony, Hockey is dealing with something in the diner, Phillips is dealing with potental death, and Duran is right here. Not to meantion the snipers are busy upstairs. We will get to the task soon I hope!"

In the Project Managers Office:
Jim Kerr petted Max and said, "What is it boy, you sense great evil?"
 
On the motel balcony-
"Roger that, Sarge," replied Ortega.

"We're on our way," said Thayer. He glared at Captain Lereux. "I don't trust you either, sir. Let's go."

"I'd be only too happy to accompany you," said Captain Lereux. "Lead the way, Airman."

In the project manager's office-
Max nodded, an unexpected mannerism for a canine.

"If there was something evil in the vent," said Mr. Foo. "It evidently got out. You can see how the grille was broken open from the inside."

Jenny shivered. "I don't like it," she said. "I don't like being around it. Is there anything else we need to do here, or can we get out of this room?"
 
On the roof of the diner-

Luke curses, puts down his rifle & excess bagage, and goes back onto the diner's roof. This time, he solely relies on his instinct and guttfeeling, but it serves him well.

Armed with his shotgun and pistol he makes his way to where Willie fell through.
 
OOC: Walkers from the east: 49/99 dead, 6 with 9 damage to head, 6 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 1 damage to head - 6 zombies inside (3 in middle of kitchen, 3 in hallway [2 near stairs]), 4 just outside
Runners from the east: 15/19 dead, 4 with 9 damage to head - 3 zombies inside (2 just inside in kitchen, 1 in hallway)

IC:
On the west side of the motel-
Zorie Spooner unlocked the back door of the motel and entered.

In the medic's room-
Phillips tried to relax, but he knew the poison was still coursing through his body and his fear simply would not go away. "Lord, take me now," he whispered. "Why am I still alive? What use can I possibly be now?" Then he heard Sergeant McCain issuing orders on the radio. "Sarge, this is Phillips," he replies. "If you need people to set up defenses down here, I'm already downstairs and I'm available. I think I can manage, and I can't just lie around doing nothing. Besides, I'm already done for, so it's better for me to take the risk than someone else. I've got a Claymore here, and while I'm not so good with it, I'm sure someone else could set it while I cover them."

On the ground floor-
Zorie locked the back door behind her and made haste to the old communications suite. The tools still lay scattered on the table where Mr. Foo had left them.

In the comm room-
"Thank you for the information, Diego Garcia," said Lt. Malone into the microphone. "We'll be in touch later, and you can always call us if you think of anything to say."

"Will do, Lieutenant," came the reply. "Diego Garcia out."

The connection closed. Lt. Malone nodded. "I think we'd better check in with base and let them know what we just found out. Put us through, Mikhalin."

Mikhalin opened a connection to Warren Air Force Base. "Lt. Colonel Carmichael, this is Lt. Malone. Do you read me, sir? Over."

"This is Carmichael," he responded. "Anything new to report?"

"Yes, sir." She summarized what she had learned from her other conversations and updated him on the local situation.

"That's good to hear about the effects of electricity. We'll electrify our perimeter fences, but I think it's too late for that missile base that's been compromised since they're already inside. The helicopter that evacuated personnel from that base is about ten minutes from your location. I'm glad you stopped that wave of infected people from the west, but the one from the east could be a problem. With the diner falling, you no longer have a buffer on that side. Do what you can to reduce the enemy's numbers to the east, but don't risk losing your own position. I can't emphasize enough that you must hold it at all costs."

"Roger that, sir. How are things at your end?"

"We're holding out, but the CO is determined to touch off a nuke over that missile base to our north. I've tried to talk him out of it, but he just won't listen to me. He told me to drop the subject, and that if I raised it again he could always...reassign me like he did Major Andrews."

(Lewis, roll Psychology. Base level is 5%.)

On the motel's roof-
"The diner's starting to fall," reported Black over the radio. "The roof crumbled under that second civilian and he fell through. The first one ran back to try to help him." He squinted through the scope. "Still can't see any targets on the east. They must be on the other side of the building - and inside it."

"There's nothing moving at the bus, Sarge," said Sheen. "I'm certain of it now. No wonder I couldn't see them. Wherever those coyotes that were picking through it went, they're not there any more."

Black raced back over to the west side of the roof. "Search the field! We can't afford to surprised by those things again. They cost us two good men last time." He spoke into the radio again. "The coyotes we saw earlier at the bus a couple miles west of here are no longer there. Everyone be on the lookout!"

Malanowski looked down over the eastern edge of the roof and saw David standing below near the base of the ladder. "Hey!" he called. "You can't be near the motel yet. You and the others need to back away until the doctors can examine you. Keep your distance so I can come down."

On the east side of the motel-
"I could hold the ladder for you-" said David.

"Just move back!" shouted Malanowski.

"Yeah, yeah." David walked past the taller ladder, clumsily brushing against it as he went past. The ladder tipped over, clattering against the asphalt. "Hang on, I'll put it back up."

Malanowski groaned. "Just make it quick. I haven't got all day."

On the motel balcony-
Thayer and Ortega started walking west along the balcony. Captain Lereux briefly leaned back around the corner and motioned to the men on the east side, then followed the two airmen. They reached the southwest corner, just feet away from the comm room door.

On the east side, the civilians waited until the threesome had moved far enough away. Then they ducked around the corner and slowly moved west.

On the northwest corner of the balcony, Duran looked out across the sea of grass. "I can see about half a mile," he reported. "No sign of any coyotes, but there is one of those formerly human creatures just at the edge of my vision. It's moving slowly though. Too far for me to have a decent chance of hitting, but the snipers can plug it easily before it gets anywhere, I'm sure."

In the diner-
"I'll try to hold them off from the stairs," said Kimberly. "See if you can help him!"

Joe Barring nodded and darted down the hall to the kitchen doorway, where he saw Willie on the table and the zombies closing in. "Hey, get away from him!" he yelled.

Hockey caught Willie's eye and waved him over with the barrel of his rifle. "This way, sir!" Then he began to take aim at one of the creatures.

Willie tried to get off the table and flee from the zombies, but he was too stunned from the fall to move quickly enough. The two ghouls nearest Joe turned briefly at the sound of his voice, but Willie was closer and all four closed in on him. Miraculously, they stumbled over each other and none of them managed to get hold of him.

Kimberly fired at one of the two zombies heading for her from the back door, but the blast went wide. "Move it!" she cried. "I can't hold them off much longer!"

Joe fired at one of the creatures in the kitchen, hitting it in the center of its head and exploding it like an overripe watermelon.

Hockey also fired, but his shot missed. Luckily, he didn't hit Willie either.

Willie scrambled to his feet, trying to decide where to go. While he could have run for the hallway and downstairs to relative safety, he'd have had to get past a zombie to do so. Instead, he jumped off the table and retreated to the front area of the diner, standing behind Hockey and to one side. He turned around to face the creatures and brought up his AR-15.

Three of the severely injured runners reached the diner. Two of them entered through the fire door to the kitchen, and the third came in through the back door to the hallway ahead of one of the slower zombies. Six others also reached the diner, but could not get past the ones that were entering. The two already in the hallway staggered towards Kimberly and were now dangerously close. "The hallway's lost!" she shouted. "We've got to get downstairs now!"

On the roof of the diner-
Luke got as close to the edge of the hole as he dared in time to see Willie scramble off the table and towards the front of the diner. There were three intact zombies already in the kitchen as well as the two runners with severe head wounds that had just entered.

(Luke can shoot at any one of these five zombies if that's what he wants to do. The range is point blank. Any hit to the injured runners' heads will finish them, but the three walkers will require 10 damage to the head to kill one.)

Azadeh glanced back and saw Luke back on the roof of the diner near the hole. Then she leaned back over the edge and fired at one of the zombies that had just arrived. She easily hit, finishing off a damaged ghoul. The wall swayed a bit as the zombies below pressed against it in their efforts to get inside. "They're pushing on the wall!" she shouted. "We can't stay here much longer!"

Samantha also shot a zombie in the head and slew it. But four still remained, trying to claw their way in - not to mention the dozens that were close behind them.

In the helicopter-
The chopper continued soaring eastwards over farmland, now more than halfway between Big Springs and Brule.

In the warehouse-
Kimberly's shout echoed down from above. "Right, everyone," said Michael. "Get ready. They'll be here soon. This is the big one."

In the prisoners' common area-
Kerry kept helping Mrs. Foo and Lynne towards the hatch chamber. "Hang on, ladies," she said, "we're almost there."

"We'll be safe when we get down there," said Lynne.

Kerry frowned. She was more afraid of going back down there than she was of the zombies.

In the upper hatch chamber-
The lift arrived, now level with the floor. Ellen got onto its flat surface. "Our ride's here!" she called. "Let's go!"

In the project manager's office-
"Yeah," said Duke, "I don't think there's anything else we can do in this room until we can find some fresh batteries. The reel-to-reel looks like it takes a standard 9-volt. Should someone run back upstairs to get it while the rest of us keep exploring, or do we all just go downstairs?" He led the way back into the hall, followed by Jenny, Max, and Mr. Foo.

(Jim Kerr and Alice, roll Spot Hidden if you leave the office.)
 
On the roof of the diner -

Luke didn't hesitate, nor did he have time to identify the faster runner or a slower ghoul, he simply aimed and shot the zombie closest to Willie in the head. The zombie's head simply disintegrated as the .33 calibre 00-buckshot pellets penetrated the skull and caused massive damage (impale, 20dmg).

A small smile lay on Luke's lips as he saw his shot strike home, but he did not have time to truly enjoy the moment, as he was already racking the shotgun and chambering a new round.
 
On the northwest corner of the motel, balcony level:
McCain watched Captain Lereux walk past him toward the communication room. He did not trust the man. Staring at him for a minute he thought he could see a gleam in his eye like he was planning something. However he determined that he was simply letting his hatred of the man lead him on. But he vowed to keep in eye on him.
Getting on the radio he said, "Philips hold up until we find the beasts and see if they are in the field. We do not want you to die in case there is something about you that can help us find a cure. Malanoowski, what is the hold up? Why are you not down here? We need you up there with a fixed rifle in case a next wave comes."

In the upstairs communications room:
Lewis thought for a minute trying to detemine if there was a reason that the commander at Omaha wanted to drop a nuke. But he could not find a reason for it. He sighed and walked toward the door to get a breath of fresh air.

In the project managers office:
Jim and Alice both agreed to leave the office and futher explore the complex. Before they did thier eyes swept through the office just in case they missed something. Alice did not see anything but Jim thought he did. Stopping in the doorway he said, "Mr. Foo, can you come back here for a minute. I think I saw something in the office?"
 
OOC: An impale means you roll double the damage dice, so you would roll an additional 4d6 rather than just doubling the damage. It doesn't matter in Luke's case, though, since the initial 4d6 was enough for a kill. Also, what Jim saw was not in the office, it was in the hallway, and you only get a chance to see it after leaving the office. Also, the Psych roll was about Carmichael, not the CO.

IC:
In the upper lab hallway-
When Jim Kerr stepped back into the hall he happened to look up and to the right. When he did, he saw a large spider-like creature clinging to the corridor's high ceiling. It was composed entirely of a black, oozy substance, and its "legs" were more like tentacles. The sight disturbed him greatly, but then the creature began to slither across the ceiling from the direction of the living quarters towards the small group.

(Jim Kerr, roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 1/1d10, so you will lose 1 point even if you succeed and you will lose 1d10 points if you fail. If you don't go temporarily insane you have one chance to act before the creature does. You may shout a warning as well, but only those who pass their Spot Hidden rolls may act before it does, so Alice cannot do anything yet. You have enough time to fire one shot at the creature if that's what you want to do. If you do not shoot, you may attempt to Dodge in case it attacks you. If you flee, you may try to run back to the living quarters - though to do so means you would pass underneath the creature. You may run downstairs without risking this, but you do not know what is down there. You could also retreat into the office, but that's a dead end. I'll make a major update once you've posted your Sanity roll and what action you're taking.

You might as well roll Sanity for Alice too, since she'll need to anyway once she sees the monster. Oh, and: :twisted: )
 
In the upper lab hallway:
Jim gasped in horror at the large spider. He managed to keep his wits about him however. He shouted a warning "There is a large spider like creature up above us! Be careful!" Jim then ran back into the office and making sure none of those creatures were behind him he pulled his pistol to fire in case it came in the door after him.

OCC: Alice sanity roll when it needs to come up:
Alice sees the spider like creature but manages to stay sane.
 
OOC: Walkers from the east: 51/99 dead, 6 with 9 damage to head, 6 with 8 damage to head - 10 zombies inside (2 on upper stairs, 5 in hallway [3 near stairs], 1 in restaurant, 2 in kitchen), 4 just outside
Runners from the east: 15/19 dead, 4 with 9 damage to head - 3 zombies inside (1 in restaurant, 2 at top of stairs)

IC:
In the medic's room-
"All right, Sarge," replied Phillips as he lay on the bed. "I'll be here when you need me."

On the ground floor-
Zorie Spooner collected the scattered tools in the toolbox that had been sitting on the writing table, then closed it and headed for the rear door again.

On the motel's roof-
"Malanowski here, Sarge," replied Malanowski. "One of the civilians in the parking lot tripped over the ladder and it fell. He's righting it now, and I'll be down as soon as it's in place. In the meantime I'm borrowing Sergeant Black's M-4. Lewis can't start fixing mine until Zorie Spooner gets back with the tools anyway."

Sam Black looked out across the field to the west. "I can't see the critter Duran spotted," he said, "or anything else out there for that matter."

Sheen also focused his gaze in that direction, but he saw nothing either thanks to the glare of the sun overhead.

On the motel balcony-
Duran kept watching the zombie as it slowly approached the motel, but it was still too far away for him to take a shot.

Captain Lereux approached Javier Ramirez at the comm room door. "Excuse me, Mr. Ramirez," he said. "I need to talk to Lt. Malone about the civilians. In fact, you should come with me. You know them better than anyone else here."

"Yes, sir," said Ramirez. He entered the comm room with the captain close behind just before Lewis stepped out onto the balcony.

Ortega went over to the railing and looked west. "I see the bogey Duran spotted too," he said. "There's only one, and it's moving slow."

Thayer also searched the field with his eyes. "Well, I can't see it," he said. "Looks like we're pretty clear to the west. Sarge, you want us to go down there while we can?"

"I can plant the Claymores," said Ortega. "I'm good with demolitions. I think Duran's still got two left on him, and Phillips said he's got one too."

In the comm room-
Lt. Malone rounded on Captain Lereux when he and Ramirez entered. "Where do you get off, sir?" she snarled. "Those civilians can't stay here, and you had no right to promise them they could!"

Lereux steps back against the wall as if from the force of her fury. "Malone, they've got nowhere else to go. The diner's a loss."

"We can't let them into the motel. They've had close contact with those things, and the risk of infection is too high. They've got trucks, anyway. They can hit the road."

"And go where? There's no other place out there where they can be safe. We do have an obligation to protect them, and they've agreed to help us after what happened earlier."

"He's right about that, ma'am," said Ramirez.

"You know as well as I do that the mission comes first," said Malone. "It's dangerous enough having Phillips downstairs, and we know for sure he's infected. It's your fault you made them a promise you can't keep, sir."

"The CO at Warren gave me full authority to make command decisions like this in the field."

"You don't have that authority any more, sir!"

On the east side of the motel-
"Say, do you support Lereux or Malone?" called David casually as he retrieved the fallen ladder.

Malanowski couldn't be sure what answer the truck driver wanted to hear. "Look, I don't give a rat's ass who's in charge!" he called down. "I'll let officers worry about politics. All I care about is keeping this position secure. Now hurry up with the ladder already! I could always use the zipline if I had to, but that'll take longer and I can't spare the time."

David looked up and noticed the zipline descending from the roof. "Hold your horses, man. Just don't shoot us or anything."

"I'm not going to shoot you. Look, I'm all for letting you guys stay here, but it's not up to me, is it?"

"I suppose not," said David, leaning the ladder back against the side of the building, "but that's why maybe you should care about who's in charge." With that he walked around the truck and behind it.

Malanowski climbed halfway down the ladder and stepped off onto the balcony. "It's not my decision anyway," he said. "I've just got a job to do!"

In the diner hallway-
"We've got to make tracks now, Joe!" shouted Kimberly. She raced quickly downstairs ahead of the zombies, her long legs blurring with speed. She slipped two shells into her shotgun as she ran.

Joe Barring bolted for the stairs as the two closest zombies in the hall lumbered after Kimberly, but he couldn't get to the stairs before they did. Shouldn't have had all those donuts, he thought as they reached for him. One of them almost grabbed him, but he slipped free of its grasp and rushed downstairs after Kimberly, also reloading as he went. The zombies lurched downstairs after them. The fast zombie with a gaping head wound was gaining too, and it reached the top of the stairs. Its partner wasn't far behind it. Two more of the slower ghouls trudged in through the smashed back door.

In the restaurant-
"Fall back, they're too close!" shouted Hockey. Willie nodded and ran for the front entrance. Hockey followed him and they stepped outside. One of the wounded runners and a walker went after them into the restaurant, and the other runner and two walkers pursued Joe into the hallway and towards the stairs.

In the diner parking lot-
"Everyone get away from the kitchen!" yelled Hockey as he emerged behind Willie. He took a hand grenade from his belt. "Fire in the hole!"

On the roof of the diner-
Luke heard Hockey shout his warning just as two more ghouls walked into the kitchen from outside. All of the other zombies were no longer in his line of sight.

Azadeh took aim again. The last damaged runner was still jogging its way closer but hadn't yet arrived, though five of the slower ones did. Small pieces of concrete crumbled from the roof and fell as they pushed against it, groaning. She shot one of them, unable to miss from so close. That particular zombie already had a slight head wound from before, and it fell and lay still.

Samantha hurriedly loaded two more rounds into her rifle, looking back at Luke. "I'd get clear if I were you!" she called.

In the helicopter-
Brule became visible on the horizon as the chopper flew closer. It was another small town, about the size of Big Springs if not a bit smaller.

In the warehouse-
The survivors in the warehouse tensed as they heard two pairs of running footsteps from above, getting closer.

In the upper hatch chamber-
Kerry helped Lynne and Mrs. Foo through the door and onto the lift. "Come on, let's go!" cried Lynne.

Ellen Cody nodded and stepped onto the lift. She pushed the button to send it down, and it began to descend.

In the upper lab hallway-
Duke looked up and easily saw the giant spider-like thing, about twice as large as he was, as it rapidly advanced along the ceiling. He kept his cool and got off a shot, but it was too low and whizzed past it.

Jenny Cooper didn't see it until it was too late, but Max did, alert as always. He barked loudly, but he showed little fear.

Mr. Foo looked around, but he didn't look up and didn't see it yet either.

The monster surged along the ceiling with startling speed and was soon almost directly overhead. It tried to drop on Mr. Foo, but landed just short of him. Its tentacle-like legs hit the ground and caught it as it seemed to almost flow down to the floor, blocking the entire hallway leading back to the living quarters. Mr. Foo kept panic at bay in spite of his brush with death. Jenny also maintained a level head.

Then the tentacles began to lash out. First, two of them swept out. One almost grabbed Max, and another wrapped itself around Duke. He bellowed in pain as the black substance the creature seemed to be composed of burned through his shirt and into his flesh. The tentacle pinned his arms to his sides.

Another tentacle reached out for Mr. Foo, but smacked into the wall instead. Finally, three more tentacles reached out. One tried to grab Jim through the open door, appearing to grow before everyone's startled eyes, but it missed the door entirely. Two more reached for Jenny, and one seized her. She wailed as the whip-like black extension of the creature touched her flesh, squirming to break free, but it held her with incredible strength.

Max sprinted down the hall, whimpering as his paws scrabbled on the stairs and he rushed off into the unknown.

(Alice and Jim Kerr are now free to act. If they shoot, they get to go before the creature. If they do anything else, it gets to act first and they should roll Dodge in case they are attacked.)
 
On the northwest corner of the motel, balcony level:
McCain stared off into the field trying to see if he could spot what Duran had spotted. The glare from the sun was way to bright and he did not see anything. "Are you really sure you see something out there," he asked Duran. Without waiting for an answer his mind drifted back toward Captain Lereux. Getting on his radio he asked, "Why in the hell are the civilians near the hotel right now! They should not be here! Do not approach them as they may have viruses on them!" He tried to figure out what Lereux's game was in bringing them here. Suddenly it all snapped into place and he ran toward the communication room door shouting in his radio for all personal to assemble and prepare for an attack by the civilians.
Lewis heard the call and weapon at the ready went around the southwest side of the balcony going toward the diner.

In the hallway/Project managers office:
Alice pulled her carbine and aimed it at the spider like creature. She fired the gun. The bullet just barly missed. At almost the same time Jim fired his revolver. The bullet hit the spider like creature. It seemed to be damaged although it could simply be stunned. Jim kept his gun trained on it.
 
On the roof of the diner-

"Just one more to buy them time." Luke answers Azadeh.

He shoots another shot that he is nearly unable to miss. The ghoul sinks to the ground as the buckshot splinters its skull.

"How about you?"Luke asks as he starts retreating.
 
OOC: Walkers from the east: 54/99 dead, 6 with 9 damage to head, 6 with 8 damage to head - 11 zombies inside (2 on lower stairs, 3 on upper stairs, 4 in hallway [2 near stairs with 8 damage to abdomen, 7 damage to right arm], 1 in restaurant with 12 damage to chest, 3 in kitchen with 4 damage to right leg, 7 to right arm, 4 to right arm), 16 just outside
Runners from the east: 15/19 dead, 4 with 9 damage to head - 3 zombies inside (1 in restaurant with 14 damage to chest, 2 on landing) , 1 just outside

IC:
In the comm room-
"Belay that order!" barked Captain Lereux into his throat mic as he whipped out the Colt Viper and leveled it at Malone. Now it was her turn to step back. "This is Captain Lereux, and I've retaken command! The civilians are here with my permission and are not to be harmed. Mr. Ramirez, you're now my XO. Place Lt. Malone under arrest and relieve her of her weapons. Sergeant Black is in charge of defenses. Ortega and Duran are hereby promoted to Acting Senior Airman."

Ramirez pointed his rifle at Malone. "Do as he says, ma'am," he said. "Don't make this any harder than it has to be." He also got on the radio. "Ramirez here. The captain is in command again. The civilians are not to be harmed. Stand down, Sergeant McCain."

"Don't listen to him!" shouted Malone over the airwaves as she looked around. "I'm still in charge! Lewis, where are you?" She glared at the captain, this time with fear in her eyes. "You can't seize command at the barrel of a gun, sir!"

"Funny, that's exactly what you did," said the captain. "Don't even think about reaching for your weapons." None of the women had their weapons ready. Lt. Blanco and Alexandria Mikhalin just stood still, shocked.

On the motel balcony-
Before Lewis could reach the southwest corner, Jimmy and Mitchell stepped around it and into his path. They both held semiautomatic shotguns, but they did not point them directly at him - yet. "Hold it right there," said Mitchell.

Gary, Wallace, and Baldwin also reached the corner right behind them, though they were still visible from the east. They kept a wary eye on Ortega and Thayer, who turned around to face them when they approached. Thayer started to raise his rifle. "Keep your weapon pointed down," Ortega told him. He reported in on the radio. "Acting Senior Airman Ortega standing by for orders, Captain." He said something else in Spanish, but the only word the English-speakers could understand was "Carlos."

(Stompie and Fearlessfred, let me know when you're back by posting in OOC and I'll PM you with what Ortega said.)

McCain, having paused to look out over the field, only had time to get about eight yards away from the comm room door by the time the civilians came around the corner.

Malanowski ran towards the comm room when he heard the commotion on the radio. When he cleared the southeast corner, he saw the civilians on the other side of the motel. He paused, unsure of what to do.

Duran remained at his post, but he turned his attention south when he saw the crowd forming near the comm room entrance.

In the medic's room-
Phillips groaned when he heard the radio chatter. "Oh, Lord," he muttered. "Why are they fighting each other? We're all Your children."

On the ground floor-
Zorie Spooner ran back through the motel to the lobby. She unlocked the back door, stepped outside, and locked it behind her.

On the motel's roof-
"I just knew this would go south," said Bobby Sheen. "What do we do, Sergeant?"

"From up here there's not much we can do," said Black. "Except keep defending this position, that is. Keep your eyes on the field."

"Target acquired," said Sheen. He shot the zombie between the eyes and blew its brains out. "The infected person in the field has been eliminated," he reported. "Thanks for the heads up, Duran. No other threats visible in the field for at least a mile out."

Black returned to the east side of the motel's roof and looked out again. This time he saw something. "There are about a dozen or so infected people crawling through the grass about a quarter mile east of here. They've all been shot in the head and they're moving very slowly. I could hit them from here, but I don't want to waste my .50 ammo on them. If I still had my M-4...actually, it wouldn't really have the range."

"Maybe I could take them out with my M-24, Sarge. I've still got a couple hundred rounds left on me, and I could always use some more target practice."

On the east side of the motel-
David jogged back around the truck and over to the base of the ladders. He began climbing the shorter ladder up to the balcony.

In the diner parking lot-
Hockey yanked out the grenade's pin with his teeth, spat it out, and tossed the grenade through the diner entrance at the kitchen door. However, it bounced off the wall next to the door and back towards the entrance, rolling to a stop in the middle of the restaurant area. His eyes went wide. "Run!" he yelled to Willie. The two of them raced through the parking lot in an effort to get as far away from the explosion as possible. "Hit the deck!" shouted Hockey when he judged the grenade was about to go off. He and Willie threw themselves flat onto the asphalt.

The grenade detonated, spraying shrapnel and debris across the main area of the restaurant, as well as into the kitchen, the hallway, and the parking lot. Hockey waited too long to dive for cover, and metal fragments struck him in the back, though they failed to penetrate his body armor. Willie dropped behind a car, which shielded him entirely from the blast.

In the diner-
The grenade exploded right near the injured runner and the walker that had been chasing the two men. Both of them had large holes blown in their chests and were knocked over, but they were still moving and otherwise not slowed down.

The three slow zombies in the kitchen, two of which had just entered, were also sprayed to a lesser extent. They were slightly wounded, one in the leg and two in the arm. Two more in the hallway near the stairs were hit as well, receiving moderate wounds to the stomach and arm. Two more zombies entered from the back door, but they were too far away from the grenade to take damage. Four others had started down the stairs and thus avoided the blast.

On the roof of the diner-
Since the grenade had not exploded in the kitchen after all, Luke was not at risk from shrapnel, though he did feel the roof tremble with the blast. Part of it to the southwest caved in, collapsing into the restaurant below.

"We can't risk crossing the roof while you're still on the unstable part!" shouted Azadeh. "Hurry! Most of the rest of them just got here!" Eighteen of the slower zombies had arrived, as did the one remaining wounded runner. She shot one in the head, felling it. Samantha nailed another through the eye and blew its skull into tiny fragments.

The eastern part of the roof was now swaying noticeably with so many ghouls pushing against it.

In the helicopter-
The chopper flew past Brule on the south. The small town was nestled alongside Route 30, and was just as devoid of life as Big Springs had been.

On the stairs-
Kimberly glanced back and saw that two of the zombies were moving faster than the others. "Keep going!" she called to Joe. "We need some more distance before we shoot. Let's get to the bottom first!" They both continued reloading as they ran.

In the warehouse-
Kimberly and Joe reached the base of the stairs, out of breath. Two of the slower zombies had just cleared the landing, and the two faster ones reached it right behind them. Three more had started down the stairs, though they were not visible from the bottom of the stairway.

"They're right behind us!" shouted Joe. He and Kimberly pointed their shotguns up the stairs.

In the lower hatch chamber-
"What going on?" asked Mrs. Foo when gunshots rang out while the lift descended. She began loading bullets into her .38 revolver.

"Mr. Foo!" yelled Ellen. "Are you all right?"

In the upper lab hallway-
Jim Kerr's .44 Magnum bullet punched a hole in the monster's center of mass, but did nothing to slow it down. Undaunted, Mr. Foo brought up the barrel of his MP-5 and fired a burst into the thing. Five bullets found their marks, though all but one dealt it glancing blows. That one hit was powerful, and the creature reeled from the impact, chunks of it flying off and hitting the floor with what sounded like a splash. It looked very unsteady, but it did not yet fall.

The tentacles morphed, becoming more elongated and whip-like. Three of them flew out towards the humans that were shooting at it. All of them looped around their targets multiple times, lashing their arms to their sides. Mr. Foo almost avoided the tentacle headed his way, but not quite. The one that reached through the door for Jim easily got him and dragged him back into the hall. All three of them felt a painful burning as the tentacles dissolved holes in their clothes and touched their skin.

With everyone immobilized, the monster then dragged Alice towards its gaping maw, though it failed to pull her all the way, the damage it had suffered apparently having taken its toll. The tentacle that was holding her actually appeared to retract into the creature and decrease in length as it pulled her closer.

Jenny screamed as she struggled in vain to free her arms. "We can still use our legs, everyone!" yelled Duke. He tried to kick the tentacle holding him, but failed to connect. Jenny flailed her legs uselessly.

The creature continued attacking its apparently helpless prey, dragging Alice inexorably closer, but she managed to drag her feet and keep herself out of its mouth. More tentacles emerged from the beast's body, and all of its extremities seemed to thicken again. It began trying to bludgeon its victims with them, and one of them pounded Alice into the ground. Blood flowed freely from her battered body as she lapsed into unconsciousness. The tentacle pulled her limp form towards its open mouth, and the creature would swallow her within seconds.

(Since the creature goes faster than non-firearm attacks, I went ahead and rolled its attacks for next round now. Jim Kerr has taken 1 damage from initial contact, and Alice is now bleeding to death at -1 HP. He cannot fire his gun or otherwise use his arms, as they are held fast to his side. If you successfully kick it, remember that you do 2d6+1d4 damage instead of 1d6+1d4 due to having Martial Arts and Kick at 57% and a 1d4 damage bonus.)
 
On the motel balcony:
McCain paused for a minute as he saw the gathering crowd of civilians and realized a potential standoff could happen. Making sure his weapon was pointed at the ground and that he was going out over the radio network also he said, "You guys are making a big mistake. What Lereux told you is a lie. I wanted everyone's help so we could have a decent chance against these creatures. I am all in favor of you being here as you were here first. He was the one who wanted to have you shot for stealing the helicopter. I was the one who had him arrested in order that he did not have you shot. My only concern was to get you away from that diner as it appears to be crumbling and will collapse soon. Please for God's sake do not make me have to do something I will regret." It appeared that he might of changed some hearts and minds.
Lewis meanwhile was silently freaking out and he said while keeping his grenade launcher pointed at the ground, "I will pull this trigger and kill us all if you do not back off. My life is unimportant but the mission is all important. We need to work together to conquer these creatures but I would rather die then see you take out good soliders who are here for you. It is your choice."

In the underground lab hallway:
Jim screamed as he saw Alice fall bleeding to death and being slowly drawn toward the creatures mouth. Struggling to move he lashed out with his feet toward the creature trying to kick it and hurt it enough to let them go. He barly managed to connect with the creature but he did connect. It appeared that the creature may have been hurt but he could not be sure.
 
In the comm room-

Rameriz stays where he is and turns his gun on Lereux "Your right the cilivans are not to be harmed
but I belive it was you who ordered that shot on the helicopter. You are under arrest please lower your weapon"

On the Roof of the Motel-

"Take those infected out keep an eye on the diner for any that may come through."
Black thinks for a moment "and be prepared for a close range gun fight this could get ugly."

In the warehouse-

Joe turns to fire but the gun jams and not at a worse time.
"Shit my gun just jamed!"
 
OOC: Walkers from the east: 55/99 dead, 6 with 9 damage to head, 6 with 8 damage to head - 28 zombies inside (2 near bottom of stairs, 18 in hallway near Samantha, 2 on upper stairs with 8 damage to abdomen, 7 damage to right arm, 3 on lower stairs, 3 in near Azadeh with 4 damage to right leg, 7 to right arm, 4 to right arm)
Runners from the east: 16/19 dead, 3 with 9 damage to head - all inside (1 in restaurant with 14 damage to chest, 1 near bottom of stairs, 1 in hallway near Samantha)

IC:
On the motel balcony-
"Captain Lereux told us that you ordered the snipers to fire on the helicopter pilot, only to change your mind at the last second," said Baldwin.

"That's true," said Ortega. "I heard it on the radio. The captain only said to shoot the pilot if they tried to take off, not anyone else. I know, I was there. The civilians at the chopper held me at gunpoint before he ever gave that order too!"

"Shut up," snarled Thayer. "You're not helping!"

"He's not really going to fire that grenade launcher, is he?" asked Jimmy, bewildered.

"The captain said Malone would never let us stay here," said Mitchell to the sergeant. "He said you and she were talking about sending us away from the diner, but there's nowhere else safe to send us. We have to stay here or we're sitting ducks."

"Are you saying you'll let us stay here if we lower our weapons?" asked Wallace. "What guarantee do we have? You're not in command, and I haven't heard one word from Malone saying we could stay. I did hear her shouting through that wall a minute ago saying we couldn't."

Duran remained where he was, listening to the conversation.

Malanowski stepped around the southeast corner so that he was not visible from the east. He too listened to the exchange with interest.

David climbed up the ladder, over the railing, and onto the balcony.

In the comm room-
"You traitor!" growled Captain Lereux. "You were being held hostage at the helicopter, remember? So was Lt. Blanco. Those civilians ceased to be noncombatants the second they pulled guns on you. I was trying to rescue you when I gave that order, and I offered to make you my exec, and this is how you repay me? You were in on it with them all along, weren't you?"

"Sir, you're being paranoid," said Malone. "Lower your weapon."

"Oh, really? So why is it McCain was baying for the pilot's blood one second and then turned around the next to help you steal my command? You've wanted it from the start. Ramirez, you're making a terrible mistake. If you think I'm bad, wait until you see what she's really like. She and her people are going to get everyone killed. Especially that reckless man Lewis. He's jeopardizing the entire mission. If that grenade launcher goes off, he'll wreck the equipment, not to mention kill all of us. And she's the one who gave it to him. I wanted to give it to you. If she takes back command again, she'll toss the civilians out on their ears and they'll be dead meat!" He held his revolver steady, still pointing it at her. His finger tensed on the trigger, but he didn't pull it yet.

Lt. Blanco had been listening silently all this time, but she finally came around to the captain's way of thinking. "He's right," she said. "I didn't want the pilot to be shot and I disagreed about seizing the helicopter, but they did draw their guns on us. We can't leave those civilians out on their own. We have a duty to protect them. We have to take them in. Please, Elizabeth, just relinquish command. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"That's not happening," said Lt. Malone. Mikhalin stood loyally by her side.

Lt. Colonel Carmichael's voice crackled from the ancient speakers: "Malone? Where are you? Come in, already!"

On the ground floor-
Zorie Spooner ran to the door to the medic's room. She unlocked it and ducked inside.

In the medic's room-
Phillips was already on his feet and halfway to the door when Zorie entered. "I don't want to go up there just yet," she said. "It sounds real bad." She locked and chained the door.

Phillips nodded. "I hope they don't all kill each other," he said. "Don't worry. Whatever happens, I'll protect you, ma'am."

On the motel's roof-
"Roger that, Sarge," said Bobby Sheen. He made his way over to the east side of the roof and squinted through his scope into the low grass east of the diner. "Can't see them yet," he said.

In the diner parking lot-
Hockey and Willie got to their feet. The young airman looked at the old cameraman suspiciously as the meaning of the radio traffic finally sank in. He began to instinctively raise his rifle.

"Whoa, whoa!" said Willie, putting up his hands. "You just saved my life, and now you're going to kill me? Thank you, by the way."

Hockey hesitated. "What are your buddies doing at the motel?" he demanded.

"Captain Lereux promised them they could stay there if they helped him take his command back. They were desperate. You'd have done the same. You don't have to be afraid of me. I didn't go with them, I stayed here. You want an enemy, look no further than those." He pointed into the diner, where the two zombies that had taken direct hits from the grenade got to their feet and continued staggering towards them.

"Son of a bitch," groused Hockey. He took aim at the slower one's head and fired, hitting solidly and blowing it apart.

Willie fired at the other, faster zombie, only to miss.

On the roof of the garage-
Luke made it safely to the eastern edge of the garage roof and recovered his rifle and the other things he had left there.

On the roof of the diner-
Once Luke was clear, Azadeh slung her rifle over a shoulder and took off across the weakened roof at a fast clip, staying well north of the hole over the kitchen. However, the part of the roof she was running over broke apart under her feet. She lunged for the broken edge of the roof as she fell, snagging it. Her legs dangled into the hallway below. "Help!" she shouted.

"I'm on my way!" called Samantha. She bolted away from the edge of the roof, which was already starting to collapse. Unfortunately, it gave way as well before she got very far. She shrieked, barely managing to hold on.

(Luke can reach Azadeh this round, but it would take him two rounds to reach Samantha. Going back out there requires another Luck roll. If he wants to try to pull Azadeh up, he must roll his STR of 12 against her SIZ of 12 on the Resistance Table, which is a 50% chance.)

In the diner-
The combined weight of the mob of zombies caused the eastern wall to finally crumble. The ghouls clambered over the debris and forced their way inside, heading for where Samantha hung on for dear life. The slower ones were only a few feet away, their arms extended towards her. The one wounded runner did reach her and nearly grabbed her, but she was able to swing away and avoid its grasp.

The three zombies that had been in the kitchen emerged and lurched towards where Azadeh was hanging, while the pair near the top of the stairs started down them.

None of the four standing zombies that had not yet reached the diner did so, but they were getting very close now. The zombies crawling through the grass were still quite some distance away.

In the helicopter-
The chopper continued following I-80 beyond Brule, the only sounds the thrum of the rotors and the engine, the music of Blue Oyster Cult coming from the speakers, and Stephanie's fingers tapping on the laptop's keyboard.

In the warehouse-
Kimberly fired her SPAS-12 at one of the faster zombies, which were already catching up to the slower ones. She put several buckshot pellets in its already severely damaged head, finishing the creature off. The other injured runner neared the bottom of the stairs, following closely by two slower ones. Three more cleared the landing, and the footsteps of others could be heard.

"Fall back!" she yelled, turning and starting to run through the warehouse towards the defensive line at the top of the stairs leading down.

(Joe, roll Dex x 5 if you wish to run away. Three zombies will reach you this coming round if you do not. You may try to clear the jam and run at the same time. You must roll under your unmodified Shotgun skill, and if you succeed it will take 1d6 combat rounds to clear the jam, including this one. Alternatively, you do have a handgun and you may take the opportunity to switch weapons instead.)

Michael stood at the forefront of the semicircle. "Stand fast, mates," he said.

Sally nodded. "Let me guess," she said. "Don't fire till you see the reds of their eyes?"

"No, fire as soon as you see their bloody heads!"

In the lower hatch chamber-
Ellen heard only screaming and gunfire, but no response. She did recognize the stuttering of Mr. Foo's MP-5 amid the chaos. Then the shooting stopped, but not the screaming. She hopped off the lift before it reached bottom and ran down the hall, clutching her shotgun. "Hang on, Mr. Foo!" she called. "I'm coming!"

The lift stopped at the bottom, flush with the floor. Kerry helped Mrs. Foo and Lynne off. "I've got a bad feeling about this," she said.

Mrs. Foo could only nod as she finished reloading her gun. Lynne held her .45 tight in one hand, and her cane in the other.

In the meeting room-
Ellen raced through the meeting room towards the sound of the screams and caught sight of the back of the monster in the distance beyond the living quarters. She too cried out in terror, but she wasn't too badly shaken.

In the upper lab hallway-
Jim's powerful kick caused the creature to shudder violently, and it collapsed in a heap. The tentacles all went slack, and the monstrous thing began to slowly leak a disgusting black sludge that looked much like the substance they had seen in the vent.

Duke scrambled to his feet first and rushed over to Alice's crumpled form, but he could do little to help her. Jenny joined him, though she couldn't make the bleeding stop either. "Mr. Foo, help us!" she called.

Mr. Foo regained his feet and went over to Alice as fast as his old age would allow. He tried his best, but to no avail. "She's hurt very badly," he said. "She'll bleed out if we can't staunch the flow very soon. Even then, I fear she'll need a doctor."

(Jim Kerr, you and the others in the room have one last chance to save Alice. Roll First Aid - base skill level is 30%. If you succeed she gains back 1d3 HP.)
 
On the motel balcony:
McCain looked at Lewis and said, "Steady boy, don't do anything stupid like get us all killed." He looked at the civilians and said, " I sent Lereux to see you because we need to have some defense in depth. The diner is unsafe and it will collapse soon if it has not already. We need to build traps that will stop these creatures and that means we need to work together not apart. Listen if you back off and don't do anything stupid like start a firefight, then I will go to Lt. Malone and see if I can persuade her to let you stay and help us defend this hotel. If I fail, I will personally go with you to help you build a defense at the diner. What do you say?" He thought he saw some of the civilians thinking it over.
Lewis said, "Listen I will not fire unless I am fired upon. I do not want to die but if it is between my life and the mission I will die you need to understand that."

In the Project Hallway:
Jim knelt at Alice's side and said, "Don't die on me please!" He tried what he could to stop the bleeding and he somehow managed to stem its flow. "Yes", he said as he saw Alice's eyes flutter open. "Water" she said weakly.
 
On the motel balcony-
"Did you even see the diner?" asked Gary. "That place is falling apart. I wouldn't be surprised if it's already collapsed. Staying there is not an option. We have to stay here, all of us. Not just those of us who are already here, but everyone else from the diner who's still alive. We can't just assume you'll convince Malone to go along with this, though. If she won't, we'd be giving up our lives for nothing. First she has to agree to our terms, then we can all work together for our mutual defense." The other civilians nodded in agreement.
 
On the roof of the garage-

"Bloody hell. You people gotta lay off the french fries!" Luke says loudly as he gets back onto the roof carrying his shotgun and the rope. His instincts remain true as he successfully navigates the crumbling roof.

He doesn't unfold the rope to save time and simply graps one side of the bundle and reaches down for Azadeh to grab hold of. His strength however fails him...
 
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