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

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Reception Area

"First on the Right."Said Duke, Gripping his M-14 tightly. "Might want to play it safe, and take it slow. Ya'know- But you're ear to the ground... listen for the buffalo."

North of the T-Bone

"Hey Soldier. We're being trailed by corpses. They can't be too far off, man. At least let us cover our asses. Needless to say, Shit's gonna get a little... err- dicey."
 
West Side of the Motel, northwest corner, ground level:
McCain silently cursed the high and mighty captain who McCain felt was hanging them out to dry, after all everyone knew that it was your noncom who really led the men not some Uncle Tom mother fucker who forgot his roots in an effort to drive to the top. He then put his mike back in front of his face and ordered, "Anyone who sees the target in the field take him down. Kill Kill Kill."

In the Garage:
Alice sat down on the ground clutching her rifle to her chest and silently breathed in and out, images still passing through her mind.
After calming down she stopped to listen, look, and think. Alice heard something and quickly looked around but did not see anything. However she did get a idea. She said, "Hey guys not only do I hear something but I have a good idea, want to hear?"

In the Warehouse basement
Jim Kerr sat down for a minute to take a drink from his trusty water bottle. He then looked at Azadeh to try and figure what was going on with her. However he could not figure it out and went back to pacing.

In the Communication Room:
Lewis sighed thinking about how his career was going to be damaged by what he had just done. Then he smiled realizing that he would easily get a job anywhere in the world with his computer skills. He also figured if worse came to worse he could get the Captain alone and shoot him dead. The Air Force may even give him a medal for that! He laughed silently.
Lewis then turned to the task at hand. He thought about how to figure out what the Russians were saying and came up with an excellent idea! "Lt. Malone I think I know what to do about the Russians.
 
OOC- By the way, Azadeh is female, not male.

IC-
West of the motel-
"You don't have to tell me twice, Sergeant," said Alanen. He adjusted his aim, pointing his pistol at the infected man's head.

In the comm room-
"Let's hear your idea," said Malone.

North of the T-Bone-
"As I said, I'm an airman, not a soldier," said Duran. "Don't worry, I've got you covered. We won't let any of them near this place." He peered around the truck to get a better look to the north.

In the garage-
It occurred to Alice that with Wallace's truck keeping the garage doors open, more zombies could get in. As if to drive this point home, she could hear moaning coming from somewhere in the garage, but she could not see where it was coming from with the huge tanker in the way.

In the underground hallway-
"First on the right it is," said Robert, standing in front of the door Duke had chosen. "You're right, let's go slow and careful. Keep your ears open and cover me."

(Duke, roll Listen.)
 
OCC- I went back and edited some of my last post. Here is the stuff based on the minor update.

In the garage:
Alice spoke without waiting to see if David or Jimmy were paying attention. "Guys, with the garage open it is very easy for zombies to get inside. We need to close it and to do that we need to move the truck either all the way in or all the way out. But be careful because I hear moaning coming somewhere inside here but with the truck in the way I cannot see where it is coming from. I think that one of us moves the truck and once that is done the other two hunt down the zombie in here. What do you think?

In the Comm Room:
Lewis said, "I do not know what exactly to do about the Russians but I noticed that the Russians are moving thier ships away from Istanbul and from where the US sub dissapered. Now Captian blowhard may think that would mean they are implicated in the attack but I think this means they are afraid their ships will meet the same fate and are getting the heck out of dodge."
He then went up to Malone and whispered to her, "Listen I think we are meant to die here and I am too good and smart to die in a battle. If I feel things are getting out of control how bout I rub my hair from left to right and that means we get out of here. What do you think?"
 
Reception area

" Sounds clear, but take it slow, man." Said duke, sholdering his rifle.

North of the T-Bone

"never know where the sons' of bitches are gonna' pop out from, Airman. Wallace Redcrow's the name." Said Wallace.

Concrete Devider

"Corperal" Said Hockey. " Do you see that?" Asked Hockey, stairing at something...

Motel

"God Damnit." Said Ortega to himself, overwatching the flatlands. "Gotcha, Sarg!" Shouted Otrega, Overhearing the order, though he see's nothing from this range
 
West of the motel-
Alanen's eyes widened as the infected man came closer. He knew that by all rights the man ought to be dead, or at least lying on the ground in agony. He did not dwell further on this, but concentrated on aiming at the guy's head. He fired again, scoring a good and powerful hit. The man dropped, but to the corporal's amazement he was still moving, crawling relentlessly towards him. "I can't believe it!" he said. "I got him right in the forehead, but he's still coming! I can finish him before he gets here, though."

Phillips and Thayer continued piling furniture to block the northwest stairway. "A couple more minutes and we'll be done," said the medic, "but we'll have to leave the southwest stairs open. There's no other way up to the balcony that isn't already blocked off."

On the roof of the motel-
Sheen finished chambering the next round in his M-24. He was ready to fire again now.

(Once again, Black and Sheen may either shoot or roll Spot Hidden and choose a direction. It's possible for each of them to look around in about a 180 degree arc in a single round. You can look in one of the diagonal directions (NW, NE, SE, or SW) if you wish, in order to cover two different angles of approach. If both of them look in opposite directions, they have a chance to survey every direction.)

In the comm room-
Lt. Malone frowned at Lewis and whispered back: "I know you've been shaken by today's events," she said, "but we have to do our duty. I'm not going anywhere until we are relieved unless I receive orders to the contrary, and I'm going to need your help to keep the intel flowing and prevent nuclear war. I don't like the captain's decisions any more than you do, but as long as he's in command we have to follow his orders. Until and unless he crosses the line, that won't change. You've been doing a great job so far, and I appreciate it. I need you to keep doing it."

(Malanowski, roll Listen if you want to try to overhear this conversation. Mikhalin is close enough to hear without a roll.)

Malone resumed a normal speaking volume. "Yes, the Russians probably wouldn't have nuked Istanbul without moving their own ships out through the strait first. And it wouldn't make sense for them to just fire one nuke. Mikhalin, any luck piercing their chatter yet?"

Mikhalin frowned. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I still can't make it out."

"Let me try." Malone listened in on the rapid-fire Russian speech. "Okay, I've got a handle on it. The Russians know about our sub, but they've got no idea what happened to it. Whatever it is has them really spooked, and that's why their ships are hightailing it out of the area. I'll report our findings in now.

She called back Carmichael at Warren AFB. "Sir, this is Malone. We can't find any conclusive evidence whether the Russians were responsible for Istanbul or not, but everything points to not. They still have naval assets in the Black Sea and there have been no further nuclear detonations. I think it's unlikely they would fire just one nuke under those circumstances. We're most likely looking at a NATO ally being behind the strike."

"I quite agree, Lieutenant," replied Carmichael. "Boy, that takes a load off my mind! The CO has us on maximum alert and was within minutes of launching our birds. I'll repeat what you told me to him, only I won't have the slightest doubt that the Russians are innocent on this one. No sense risking that hair trigger going off unnecessarily. Still damn bad news about Istanbul, though. That was a strategic waterway, and the nuke will only make matters worse there, not better."

(Lewis, Mikhalin, and Malanowski, roll Idea.)

"There's one more thing, sir." Malone told him about the sub. "We still don't know what caused it, but it wasn't the Russians. They're as much in the dark as we are."

"Okay, Malone, good job. If I were you I'd get that gear upstairs ASAP while you can. We'll be blind for a little while, but there's no avoiding it. From what we've heard, that ground floor is not the slightest bit secure."

"Yes, sir. Malone out." She cut the connection. "Is there anything else we should do before packing this stuff up and moving it upstairs?"

North of the T-Bone-
"Airman Carlos Duran," answered the trooper. "Nice to meet you, Wallace." He didn't notice anything to the north.

"The captain said one of you is injured," said Zorie Spooner. "I'm here to help."

"That would be me," said Kimberly.

"What happened to your arm? Let me take a look at-" She paused, her jaw dropping and her hand pointing to the north. "Captain, I see some people coming! There's about ten of them, and they're running this way fast!"

Captain Lereux was suddenly alert. He looked where she was pointing, then got on the radio: "All personnel be advised, we've got ten incoming infected coming down the north road! They're just a few hundred yards off now and closing fast. ETA approximately one minute."

(Black and Sheen may fire at these zombies without having to roll Spot Hidden, since they are clearly visible now that they've been pointed out. Black may fire five shots with no penalty. Sheen may fire three times since his rifle has a slower rate of fire, also with no penalty.

Everyone at the truck gets five rounds of fire at each at the zombies. However, there may be range penalties for the early shots. The zombies are currently 150 yards north of the truck and 200 yards north of the T-Bone. They will get 20 yards closer after each round. You may forgo some of the earlier rounds if you wish to avoid penalties. Those actually inside the truck will miss their first round of fire if they want to get out and shoot, though none of them have rifles and probably won't hit until possibly the last round or two. Shotguns have a maximum range of 50 yards, so they can only hit on the last round of fire. If they do hit, they hit 1d6 targets and do 1d6 damage to each of them, rolled separately. Wallace's .357 Magnum has a base range of 20 yards, doubled to 40 for precision aim. It would fire at half skill on the last two rounds, and less than that on the others. The other pistols have base ranges of 15 yards, doubled to 30. They would fire at half skill on the last round, and less than that on the others. Switching weapons will take a round. The 5% penalty for headshots is applied after the skill is halved.

You should review the Spot Rules for Combat for more information. The rules for firing bursts are there, which also tell you how to fire at multiple targets. Don't forget that bursts cannot be targeted to hit the head. Each bullet that hits will strike a random location determined by rolling 1d8, where a roll of 1 hits the head.

If you have questions about the combat rules, feel free to ask them in the OOC thread.)

At the concrete divider-
Hockey notices a woman with a steel rod impaling her through the stomach running from the highway on the southeast, towards the people on the east side of the diner.

(Hockey, roll Sanity. Cole must roll too if he looks at that zombie. Any loss of 5 or more means you should roll Idea. If that succeeds, you go temporarily insane and cannot get any shots off.

Cole is also in a position to get five rounds of fire at the zombies, but as long as the truck is in the way it will obstruct his line of sight. He can move to a new position to get a clear shot with the rifle by giving up his first two rounds of fire. He may also fire his M203 at the zombies in an arc over the truck without moving. This has a rate of fire of 1/3, so he would get at most two grenades off. If one hits, roll 1dX, where X is the number of zombies left in the group, to see how many are hit and use the 1d8 random hit location for each to see if there are any head hits.

Hockey is in the same position Cole is in. While he could fire bursts from his SAW at the zombies or use his rifle, he will have to give up two rounds of fire to move to where he can get a clear shot.

Either or both of them may also shoot at the zombie on the highway with their first round of fire without changing position, as may the snipers once they are told it is there.)

In the garage-
"Let me get this straight," said David. "You want me to move the truck, with my back turned, while one of those things is roaming around in there?"

"Who says there's only one?" said Jimmy.

The trucker groaned. "Look, we'd better kill it - or them - first. Then we can move the truck."

"There it is!" shouted Jimmy, pointing around the side of the tanker. A zombie was lumbering along its side towards the exit, and the nearest meal, its arms outstretched and a moan escaping from its lifeless lungs.

He raised his shotgun and blasted it in the head, shearing most of it off. The thing collapsed in a bloody heap.

David moved cautiously into the garage on one side of the truck while Jimmy entered on the other side. They both looked around. "We're clear!" said David. "Okay, now let's get this truck inside. Alice, we'll need you to keep watch and make sure no more of them get in here. This'll take a few minutes."

East of the diner-
Mitchell spotted the female zombie with the rod through her belly out of the corner of his eye. "Incoming!" he yelled, pointing. "There, to the southeast. About twenty yards off." He pointed his shotgun at the creature's head and squeezed the trigger, only to have the shell jam. "Damndamndamn!" He struggled to clear the weapon, refusing to panic.

"Jeez," said Jenny looking at the ghoul with obvious horror, but she stood her ground and took aim at its head with her new rifle. She fired, but the bullet narrowly missed. "Aw, man!"

(Luke, Willie, Samantha, and Ellen, roll Sanity. If you avoid going temporarily insane, you may shoot.)

On the roof of the T-Bone-
When Beth heard Mitchell's warning, she turned to look - and screamed in fright. She winced, then collected herself and took aim at the zombie's head. She shot it and wounded it severely, but it kept coming.

In the diner-
Mrs. Foo looked alarmed when she heard the gunfire. "There more of them?" she asked, concerned.

"I'm sure the others will take care of it," said Rosie. "Let's get you two downstairs." She led her and her husband through the trapdoor and helped them climb down.

Underneath the T-Bone-
Lt. Angela Blanco and Javier Ramirez arrived in the warehouse and approached Dr. Hausmann. "Hello," said the woman in the orange suit. "I'm Dr. Angela Blanco of the U.S. Army Research Institute for Infectious Disease. I'd like to examine you."

"She wasn't bitten," said Stephanie.

"That's a good sign, but we need to be sure. Your injury also needs further treatment. Also, we need you tell us everything you know about what's on these computers."

"That I cannot do," said Dr. Hausmann. "I am sworn to secrecy."

"Please, doctor. All that has gone out the window now. We need to have this information if we're to save lives."

"Nein. I will tell Stephanie everything, just in case. My recent brush with death has shown me that I cannot take my knowledge to my grave. But I cannot tell anyone else. You'll think me mad."

"Captain Lereux already does," said Stephanie , "but he's not here now and I know you better. The cat's already out of the bag, at least partway. These people can help us, but we need to level with them, Brigetta."

"I'm sorry, Stephanie. They don't know me like you do. I will tell you alone, but only if you promise not to divulge this information to anyone else."

(Ramirez, roll Persuade if you want to try to convince Dr. Hausmann to tell what she knows. If that fails, roll Idea. Jim Kerr and Bob Larkin may also try to convince her through Persuade or Fast Talk, and may roll Idea if that fails. The base chance for Persuade is 15%.)

Azadeh listened to the exchange with interest. Kerry paid no attention and continued to stuff her face. She had already eaten half a bag of potato chips and showed no signs of stopping.

In the reception area-
Randall walked back and forth across the room, keeping his eyes and ears peeled for any trouble.

In the underground mess hall-
Robert turned the handle and opened the metal door. Inside was a mess hall containing long, dusty tables and equally dusty chairs. At the back of the room was a counter, and behind that was a kitchen area stocked with various pots, pans, and utensils. At the back of the kitchen was another door. There were rusty sinks, ovens, a grill, and a large Westinghouse refrigerator from around 1960 that was currently running.

Max trotted into the room and began sniffing the air. When he smelled the fridge, he whined and backed away.

Robert and Duke entered into the mess hall, followed by Sally, Lynne, and Gary.
 
In the Communications Room:
Lewis sadly shook his head at Malone's question and then began disconnecting wires from various machines preparing to move the equipment upstairs. As he did this he thought of what was going on halfway around the world and tried to figure out what they could do in the middle of Nebraska. He suddenly stood up straight and said, "You know I have a good idea, anyone care to hear it?"

At the Garage:
Alice paced back and forth and waited for David to move the truck inside the garage. As she walked she looked and listend for more of the undead creatures. She saw something out of the corner of her eye and heard something else in that same direction. She turned to the threat and said, "All right, come out of there hands up or I will blow you away, and not in a good way."

In the basement:
Jim Kerr heard the argument and tried to talk fast to convince the doctor to let the millitary in on her secrets. but he saw it was not working. He sat down and tried to think of a way to get the good doctor to give in. He smiled as he came up with a good idea which he then told the people in the basement.

West side of motel, northwest corner, ground level:
McCain heard the action on his radio and he saw that the barricade was going up well. On his radio he told the two building the barricade to, "Make a rope ladder so we can get up and down now." He then paced back and forth 21 steps one way, stop and face the grass then turn and repeat 21 steps back stop and face the grass and so on. As he did so he listend and looked for trouble. The wind was blowing too hard for him to hear anything but he thought he saw something moving in the grass. He got on his radio to Black and asked, "Sgt. Black can you look into the field and see if there is anything there or is it my eyes playing tricks on me?"
 
The concrete divider -

"Take it easy, Hookey. There's no need to get excited. Pick your targets and mow em down..." Cole says as he walks into position to provide fire support on the group of zombies, leaving his squadmate to deal with the other side.

Following his own advice, Cole squeezes off 3 rounds while switching target after each shot, scoring 3 perfect headshots, and inflicting enough damage (2d8=13, 2d8=7, 2d8=10) to take out two zombies.


On patrol -

Luke remains his composed self and fires at the incoming threat. The crack of the rifle sends the bullet tearing into the zombie's head and removing its jaw (2d6+3=7).


Underneath the T-Bone -

Bob quickly argues that now is not the time for secrets (Persuade 15% (1d100=7)) and that they should attempt to work together.


OCC: Cole's last rolls are 3x3 2D8, by accident, so just pick the first 3.
 
OOC- A small update now, and a big one coming Friday or Saturday. A few things to keep in mind:

When firing a burst, you only need to roll to hit once per target. You decide how many bullets to fire in all (up to the maximum rate of fire for the weapon, which is 20 for a SAW), and how many of those bullets are directed at each target. All the targets must be within a close arc of fire. The zombie from the highway was the only eligible target in this case, so Justin Hockey's first roll to hit is all that counts. For each target that you hit, you then roll 1dX, where X is the number of bullets you fired towards that target to see how many of them hit. If you rolled an impale, damage is doubled on the first bullet only. Bullets from the SAW do 2d8 damage each, not 1d8, so he actually would have caused more damage. Since Luke finished that zombie, though, it's a moot point. Each bullet hits a separate random location on the body based on the roll of 1d8 (a roll of 1 means you hit the head), which Stompie did correctly, though the character name was left off.

When your characters succeed at an Idea roll, I will give you a hint about what they've thought of. It's up to you to figure out what that hint means and go from there; I won't spell out exactly what you should do.

Good job taking the initiative and making rolls on your own, Steve. From now on I won't always call for rolls. I still will do so sometimes, but feel free to roll the dice yourself if you feel it's warranted. I may apply bonuses or penalties to the roll depending on the situation and the difficulty of the task, so if it's close a success may turn into a failure or vice versa. Much of the time, though, the roll will not be modified, and when there is a modifier I will often point it out beforehand. When you roll something like Spot Hidden or Listen, I'll tell you what it is (if anything) you see or hear. For example, Alice just passed Spot Hidden and Listen rolls. She does not detect any zombies or anything else moving in or around the garage area. The Spot Hidden success means that she found some tools that will be useful in repairing the truck later. The Listen success means she would have heard something if there had been anything to hear. There wasn't this time (other than the gunshots, which you don't need a roll to hear), so she doesn't hear anything unusual.

Alice may also move outside if she wishes and still get two shots off at the zombies coming from the north. However, if she goes outside and focuses on shooting she will not be able to keep an eye on the doors leading further inside. Those doors were smashed open by the zombie horde in Chapter 1. They could be blocked off with furniture, but not permanently closed. The garage door can be closed once the truck is moved fully inside.

Michael's pistol, the Glock, also has a base range of 20 yards, so he can get two rounds of fire at half skill. It also has a rate of fire of 3, remember, so he can fire up to 3 shots each round provided that they're all directed at the same target. The Ruger pistols have a rate of fire of 2. Of course, getting out of the truck will leave one more vulnerable and slower.

Hockey still has four rounds of fire if he wishes to use them. It will take him two of those rounds to move to a position where he can fire on the eight remaining zombies coming from the north (one of which is wounded), leaving him two chances to fire. He may switch to the rifle while moving if he wishes, thus not needing to waste another round changing weapons. Cole has used all of his rounds of fire, and did quite a good job.

After the next update, when the zombies are closer (provided any are left), combat will return to one round per major update instead of five.

IC-
West of the motel-
McCain could vaguely see the creature that was slowly dragging itself towards Corporal Alanen. It was about fifteen yards away from him and he would still have a few chances to fire before it could reach him. He also saw the grass moving in the distance to the west, but without a scope he could not yet tell if the movement was from the wind or from something coming towards the motel. Perhaps the snipers would be able to get a better view, but then they wouldn't be able to shoot at the incoming infected people to the north.

"Sergeant," said Phillips, "we're almost done here but it'll take us about two more minutes to finish shoring this barricade up. Do you really want us to stop now, or do you mean you want us to make the ladder right after we're done? We can still get up by that fourth stairway in the meantime, on the southwest corner."

In the comm room-
Lewis realized that it was a shame that Istanbul was nuked. It didn't have to happen. If only whoever had set off the nuke had known it was a bad idea. It was too late for Istanbul, but maybe not for other cities. If it happened once, what was to stop it from happening again?

"You've had some good ones this morning," said Malone. "You've done an excellent job, and thanks to your help we've prevented World War III for now. If you've got more where those came from, I'm all ears."

At the concrete divider-
Hockey saw a few of his bullets rake the woman's body, but they did not bring her down.

Cole could see the results of his handiwork in the distance to the north. Two of the things were slain outright, and a third was seriously wounded. It continued, but its pace was slowed.

At the garage-
Alice finished her sweep of the garage. She did not see or hear any new threats, but she did find a box with various tools that could be used to repair the truck once it was completely inside the garage and the garage door was shut. She noticed that the doors leading to the office and the diner had been broken open, presumably by the huge group of zombies that had attacked the diner earlier. With a little work they could be blocked off, but they would never close again.

East of the diner-
Luke's shot was enough to finish off the zombie, and it crumpled to the asphalt, unmoving.

Underneath the T-Bone-
Jim Kerr wondered if maybe there was some way they could make a deal. Did the military people have anything that Dr. Hausmann might want in exchange for telling them all she knew?

"Ja, Bob," said Dr. Hausmann. "You are right." She turned to the new arrivals. "I will explain things to you two and Stephanie. We need some place where we can work, some place both private and secure."
 
West Side of motel, Northwest corner, ground level:
McCain got on his radio and said, "Phillips continue building the barricade and then build the rope ladder once that is finished. Snipers, once you have finished off the infected targets to the north look in the field near the motel and inform me what you see." McCain then grapped his M4 and aimed at the infected target near Cpl Alanen and setting his burst to 3 bullets fired. But he saw all three bullets miss! Cursing he took aim again and prepared to fire.

In the Comm Room:
While holding a piece of equipment, Lewis said, "It is a shame that Istanbel was nuked. It did not have to happen. But while it is too late for Istanbel, what about other cities? If it happend once it can happen again and then WWIII will happen. We need to figure out a way to get this to stop, and that decision has to be made at a higher level then my paygrade. I hate to say it but the good Captain may have to make a decision, if he can take his head out of his ass long enough to do so."

In the garage:
Alice realized that she was jumpy and yelling at nothing. She laughed silently and putting her weapon on her shoulder she went over and grabbed the tool chest sitting near by which could help fix the truck. As she did so she noticed that the doors that led to the office/diner were broken, most likly by the zombies. She made a mental note to try and block them while her guys were working on the truck. She then went back to guarding the area.

The Warehouse Basement:
Jim heard Bob convince Dr. Hausmann and said, "Dr, I know you have made a decision to give your info now but I was wondering if there was a way that you could hold off until you made a deal. Perhaps the millitary could offer you something in exchange?"
 
Concrete Devider

"Shit!" Shouted Hockey, as he moved to a new firing position. He took his time, aiming his weapon at the target. He squeezes the trigger, but misses by inches.. "Damnit!" Said Hockey, examining the Iron Sights.

Underneath the T-Bone

Duke Notices Max's reaction. Duke acknowledges Max's reaction as an indication of a threat. "Dog smells something. Its freakin' out. might wanna use some extra caution"

West of the Motel

"We can do this! Ain't shit compaired to what we faced earlyer." Shouted Wallace, Withdrawing his .357 . He needed to either crawl over Joe to escape, or wait for the officer to exit the truck. Wallace wasn't going to wait for the Ok from the airman.
 
OOC- Hockey's roll is actually a hit if he is firing a burst of at least three bullets. Each bullet beyond the first adds +5% to your chance to hit, up to a maximum of 90% (if your Machine Gun skill ever gets higher than 90%, you just roll to hit at your skill level). You can go ahead and roll to see how many bullets from your burst hit(1dX, where X is the number of bullets fired), the location of each bullet that hits(1d8 per bullet), and how much damage each bullet causes(2d8 per bullet). He also has time for one more round of fire, or he may switch to his rifle using the time he has left.

Wallace also has two chances to shoot at half skill after he gets out of the truck at the zombies coming from the north. This is 66/2-5, or 28%, when making a precision aimed headshot. Since he's only got 9 bullets left, he might not want to fire until they get closer.

If you don't post by the time I do the full update Saturday afternoon, I'll assume Hockey fired another burst of 5 rounds and roll myself to see what they did.

Also, the dog in the kitchen is Max, not Buddy. Duke's first roll wouldn't really be a Biology roll. Zoology would be a possibility, but he doesn't have the skill. He does have Natural History, which could also apply, and the roll would still be a success, so he used that skill. He also wouldn't need to roll Fast Talk to get people to be careful, but I'll give him the skill check for that too.

IC-
West of the motel-
"Thanks, Sarge," said Alanen, "but you should save your ammo. I can finish this one off." He took aim at the thing's head again.

In the comm room-
"I don't think we need to bother the captain," said Malone. "He sounds like he has his hands full anyway. He left me in charge of communications, and I can do the talking. I convinced Lt. Colonel Carmichael not to launch, so I could convince others too. We can use this equipment to call out, so let's plug it back in and not move it upstairs just yet. Any thoughts on where we should try to call?"

North of the T-Bone-
"Are you sure about this?" asked Baldwin. "There's a lot of those things, and we're low on ammo." He moved aside to let Wallace out the driver's side. "You can go out there if you want, but I think we ought to drive the rest of the way to the T-Bone. It's not that far."

(Wallace may roll Persuade if he wants to try to convince Baldwin to get out and fight the zombies. Since Persuade takes time, he will not be able to fire until after the next full update if he tries this, whether he succeeds or not. If he uses Fast Talk he can still get his shots off at the zombies this round, but he only has the base skill of 5% in that.)

At the garage-
"The tanker's coupling is busted," said David. "If we're going to push the truck back inside, we'll have to do some basic repairs first. Good thing you found that part from the junkyard and those tools, because we're going to need them."

In the warehouse-
"I do need my computer back," said Dr. Hausmann.

"I'd like to do that," said Lt. Angela Blanco, "but I'm afraid that's impossible. We're under strict orders from Captain Lereux not to return the computers without his permission. Let me see if I can get him to change his mind." She called him on her radio. "Captain?"

"Busy at the moment!" he replied, amid the sounds of gunfire.

"Maybe once they see what's on that computer they'll change their minds," said Stephanie.

In the kitchen-
"Okay," said Sally, "let's play it safe." She moved towards the fridge, her pistol in her right hand. "I'll do the honors if nobody else will. Cover me, guys."
 
West of the motel-
Alanen squeezed the trigger again, plugging it in the head a second time and blowing it to bits. "Hostile is terminated," he reported. He turned the safety back on, holstered the pistol, and went back to work with the Claymore.

Thayer and Phillips continued blocking off the northwest stairway. "Another minute or so and we'll be done," said Thayer. "I think I know where we can find a rope. That ladder on the east side of the motel that the snipers used to get on the roof is tied to that big horking satellite dish with a pretty long rope. If we cut it in half and break off some chair legs to use as rungs, we could make a decent rope ladder. The real one can stay where it is to allow access to the roof, and we can hang the rope ladder from the balcony. Too bad the roof overhangs the balcony, or we could have used the same ladder to reach both."

On the roof of the motel-
For some reason, Sergeant Black and Airman Sheen still had not acted, as if uncertain what to do. The radio crackled, and Captain Lereux's voice barked: "Why aren't the snipers taking them down? We've got incoming from the north! They're almost here!"

(Fearlessfred and Gonzalez, by not posting you've missed your best chance to reduce the zombies' numbers. Now they're almost at the truck, and combat is back to one round per major update. If you don't post, your characters do nothing unless you've given a standing order for them.)

In the comm room-
Alexandria Mikhalin looked thoughtful as she reconnected the communications gear. "I think I know who to call, ma'am," she said. "The people with their fingers on the button. If we could get through to NATO command, they might be able to forward our warning to all of our allies, or failing that let us know who to get in touch with."

"Good idea," said Malone. "NATO HQ is in Brussels, Belgium. Let me see if I can connect to them. It should be possible, since this network was designed with the Cold War in mind. I just hope they haven't been overrun yet." She opened up the channel. "Hello, can anyone hear me? Over."

After a short pause, a man replied: "Allo? Qui est ceci?"

"Hello, this is Lt. Elizabeth Malone of the United States Air Force. Is there anyone there who speaks English?"

"Je ne comprends pas." The man paused. "Spreekt u het Nederlands? Sprechen Sie Deutsches?"

"I'm sorry, I don't speak any of those languages." She tried Russian, but he didn't understand it. Then she turned to the others in the room. "I don't suppose any of you speak French? What about Dutch, or German?" She was met with only blank stares. "I wonder who we've got who might speak the lingo."

North of the T-Bone-
Wallace squeezed past Baldwin and got out of the truck. "Come on, man, you've got to let us by!" said Baldwin.

"Sir, I really think we ought to let them past," said Duran as he aimed at the rapidly approaching zombies.

Lereux crinkled his brow. "Okay," he said, pointing at Kimberly. "You, get out of the truck. Then the rest of you can pull through and park near the garage. Stay clear of the motel."

Kimberly followed Wallace out of the truck. Then Baldwin put it into gear and drove off to the south.

"The doc will check you out once we've dealt with these guys," said Lereux. "In the meantime, why don't you put that shotgun to good use?" Then he turned his attention back to the north, raising his M4 to his shoulder and lining up a shot. The time he had spent talking meant he wouldn't get quite as many bullets off before the creatures arrived. He opened fire and only scored one hit so far, but it finished the one that Cole had wounded.

Meanwhile, Duran was also firing at the incoming ghouls. He hit with four rounds, and one hit was especially deadly. Three more zombies went down, and moved no more.

That still left four more that were closing fast. Kimberly aimed her shotgun at them and fired, but the buckshot passed harmlessly over their heads.

The last four ghouls kept closing, and three of them were now just thirty yards away. Captain Lereux recoiled in horror, but kept his wits about him. Duran barely flinched. Kimberly also held her ground, as did Zorie Spooner.

(Wallace, roll Sanity. If you do not go temporarily insane, you may get one shot off this round with no penalty other than the -5% for a headshot.)

Between the motel and the T-Bone-
From his new position, Justin Hockey could see a couple rounds from his burst hit one of the runners coming in from the north. It took one round to the head, and another to the leg. It was badly wounded and knocked down by the impact, but it managed to get back up and resume its advance, though at a slower clip.

At the garage-
David and Jimmy collected the tools and the part, then set to work trying to fix the coupling that connected the cab to the tanker. David quickly identified the problem and made good progress towards repairing it, and Jimmy also did a fine job.

"We should be done in about four more minutes," said David. "Then we'll be able to push the truck the rest of the way inside and close the door. Of course, it'll take a lot more work after that before she's ready for the road."

Just then Baldwin pulled up to a halt in front of the garage. "I'll let you out here," he said. "We need to get that fuel loaded aboard. I'll turn the truck around in the parking lot so it's facing north again and we can finish refueling the chopper after the rest of those things chasing us are dealt with."

East of the diner-
While Ellen Cody had been horrified by the thing that Luke had just killed, it had no lasting effect on her. Willie, however, stood in shock, somewhat disturbed.

(Since Gonzalez didn't post, I went ahead and rolled Sanity for Willie.)

Samantha also gaped at the creature in utter horror. She realized that it was once a human woman like herself, but had become something not human at all. She gripped her rifle with grim determination and pressed the barrel under her chin. "No," she muttered. "I won't let it happen to me."

"Hey!" said Mitchell. "What do you think you're doing?"

On the roof of the T-Bone-
Beth turned towards the north and took aim at one of the zombies that was closing in. She shot it in the head and dropped it. "There's three left to the north, one of them wounded!" she called.

In the warehouse-
"What's through there?" asked Stephanie, pointing at the gate.

"They found a secret prison facility in there," said Dr. Hausmann.

"Really? Maybe we should check it out."

"Not you too, Stephanie. It's dangerous down there. They already found one of those creatures, and who knows what else could be lurking?"

She looked through the gate. "Well, what about that room on the other side? We can have one guy watching the gate and another guarding the hall. If more of those walking corpses come from above we can lock the gate, and if anything comes up from below we can get out through it."

"What if both happen at once?" asked Azadeh.

"Oh. Well, then we're pretty much hosed. Look, I'm sure it will be okay if we're right on the other side of the gate."

"Very well," agreed Dr. Hausmann reluctantly. "Trooper, please lead the way. Jim, Bob, please follow us."

"Sure thing," said Bo. He went through the gate, followed by Stephanie and Dr. Hausmann, and finally Ramirez and Blanco walked through carrying the laptops.

Kerry continued to gorge herself on snack food.

In the reception area-
Randall looked in alarm as he saw people coming from the warehouse, then relaxed when he saw who they were.

"We're going to need to use this room," said Dr. Hausmann.

"Okay," said Randall. "Looks like you've brought your own security, so you won't need me standing guard here any more. If it's all right, I'd like to catch up with the others and take a look around."

"Be careful. There could be anything down here."

Randall nodded and went off down the hall.

In the kitchen-
Sally slowly approached the fridge, briefly startled when a rat poked its nose out from behind it. It squeaked once and then retreated. "Man, this place stinks," she said, wrinkling her nose. Robert covered her and nodded as she opened the door. Her stomach churned violently when she looked inside, but she managed to keep her breakfast down and slammed the door shut again.

"What is it?" asked Gary.

"Ever smelled 50-year old food up close before?" she asked. When he shook his head, she went on. "Well, count yourself lucky. The fridge has only been running since the power went on this morning. Before that, all that food's been rotting in there for the last few decades."

"Anything of value in there?" asked Lynne.

"I really doubt it, and I don't think it's worth finding out."
 
North of the T-Bone

Wallace Scoffed at the undead approaching, Unscaved by their approach. A scant smirk was visible, as he took carefull aim at one of the critter's heads, and squeezed the trigger, and misses by inches "FUCK!" Shouted Wallace, having missed a very doable shot.
 
West side of the motel, northwest corner, ground level:
McCain saw the target go down and he took his gun off it. In his radio he said, "Good job Alanen." He then scanned the area before getting back on his radio and saying, " Thayer, that sounds like a good plan. Sheen and Black if you do not take a shot in the next two minutes you will be on KP for the rest of your time in the Air Force and I may bring up charges of disobeying orders and get a courts martial to hear them. Now take the dam shot, IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"

In the Comm Room:
Lewis thought for a brief few seconds and then said, "You know one night I was drinking with Sgt. McCain and I noticed that he spoke a bit of French, mostly curse words and the like, but he may know more. Do you want me to get him to come here?"

In the Warehouse Basement:
Jim looked around quickly to make sure that Kerry was going to be ok and seeing her continue to eat her way though all their supplies, he smiled. He then followed the group into the reception area and took up a guard post.

In the Garage:
Alice watched her men fix the truck. She paced back and forth for a bit and then said to David, "You know when we get to my folks place, since you are kind enough to do this, I will whip up a meal of lamb, chicken, and rice along with several different stewed vegtables. To drink we will have coffee and tea. It is what my old roomate from Kuwait cooked. What do you think, sound yummy? Oh and of course you will get a very special desert." She winked at David as she said this.
 
In the warehouse -

"Jawohl, mein fuhrer" Bob replied to the doctor's orders. However, before moving on, he stopped by Kerry and put most of the snacks out of her direct reach. It'd be foolish to have her eat herself sick. An indigestion is not something you want right now. Besides, supplies might become limited later on.


OCC:

- Can Luke act regarding Samantha? Is he closeby?
- Can Cole shoot again (if there are any zombies left when he gets to shoot ofc)?
 
OOC- Luke is close to Samantha and may act. Cole may also take another shot at a zombie. There are three left now, two of them uninjured and 30 yards from the nearest people, and one with a head wound that is 10 yards further back.

EDIT: Note that in Samantha's current mental state she is beyond reason, so Persuade will not work on her.

Stompie, don't forget to post for your other characters. Hockey may also take another shot at the zombies.

IC-
In the comm room-
"That's a good idea," said Malone, "but since I outrank him I'd better be the one to tell him." She got on the radio. "Sergeant McCain, your presence is required in the communications room." She switched off her radio. "He's close by at least. I believe Sergeant Black knows French too, but he's up on the roof and we need him there now. Lt. Blanco also speaks French, but she's across the road. We may not have much time."

At the garage-
David licked his lips. "That sounds positively delicious, darling," he said, working quickly. The sooner he finished, the sooner they could get to Idaho.

In the reception area-
Dr. Hausmann frowned at Bob as he and Jim Kerr followed her, but said nothing in response.

"Oh, yeah!" said Randall as he ducked back into the room. "Almost forget." He handed the gate key to Bo. "In case you need to lock or unlock it." Then he went down the hall again, towards the open door to the mess hall.

Bo gave the key to Jim Kerr, then took up a position at the hallway's entrance and stood watch. "You can cover the gate," he said.
 
West Side of the Motel, northwest corner, ground level:
McCain heard the command and got on his radio, "Yes Mam'm right away" He shouted at Cpl Alanen to watch his sector then jogged toward the communications room.

At the Comm Room:
McCain ducked inside the door and said, "What do you need?"

In the reception area:
Jim Kerr grinned at Dr. Hausmann and then took up his position at the gate.
 
East of the diner -

"Nooooo!" Luke screams as he sees Samantha's intent. The scream is nearly a primal growl as the hunter lunges at the woman and knocks the barrel clean from under her chin. As the rifle tumbles he grabs the stunned woman by the shoulders and turns her towards him.

"Suicide is not the way." he says with his light grey eyes peering into hers "When the time comes, I'll save a bullet for both of us, but you cannot give up now."

While he is struggling to find the correct thing to say, it is clear he is sincere and brutally honnest.

"Whatever this abominations are, they can be fought. You need to forget what they once were. Now they are slow, stupid and our enemy, but they can be beaten. If we pull together, we can prevail. If we work together, we can outlast there fuckers, whatever they are." Luke says, convincing her as much as he is convincing himself "I will never give up the fight, and neither should you."

"Do you hear me?"


The concrete divider -

Cole focused to a point where he no longer saw humans, zombies, buildings, concrete dividers, trucks and cars. He saw 4 simple abstractions: hostiles, neutrals, friendlies and obstacles. His aim was as precise as ever when he released the shot (1d100=13). As the light recoil bit into his shoulder, for him a hostile simply blinked out of existance. For all others, the bullet struck the zombie dead center inbetween the eyes. The 5.56mm bullet then started its characteristical tumble inside the zombie's brain, and then exited the head at half a tumble, taking a third of the skull with it (2d8=15). The zombie simply collapsed, spilling what was left of its brain onto the black asfalt.
 
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