ICC- Zombie Apocalypse- At the Truck Stop

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In the Diner-

Rita shakes her head at Dave. “Next time you see someone being attacked by one of them fucking things, as I was by that piece of carrion lieing there, and you got the means to do something about it, you better fuckin do it. You ain’t here to be eatin our food and backing away like some pussy ass Sir Robin when things are getting bad. Boy, if the good Lord didn’t want you to be a man, he wouldn’t have given you no balls. I got no time for no man with no balls. Now best you help Rosie and otherwise shut the fuck up.”

Rita shows little more attention to David as she watches the others dash from kitchen to the parking lot, shaking her head. Instead she heads to the garage.

In the garage-

Rita enters the garage as Bob puts a bullet into the zombie’s brain. The zombie falls to the floor, just as Gary and Jimmy are about to shoot again, but both hold their fire. David has his pistol out and is also ready to fire when the ghoul drops to the floor.

For a moment none of the men know what to say, so it is a woman who speaks first.

“Good, least I know someone else around here knows what to do about them things.” She says. “I understand that Earl and Hammond are dead, which is appropriate as neither man was worth horse shit in my book. Indeed it was an awful twist a fate that one was my brother and a consequence of too much alcohol that I married the other. Regardless, I see we have a situation that needs resolving.”

David begins to say, “Rita, I think…”

“You be quiet. I know your business with Hammond.” Turning back to Bob, Rita says, “Now I understand you need to get that helicopter fixed and flying. I would advise that my boys, Dave and Mitchell be utilized to assist you so you can get your people away from here. Indeed as I am the sole inheritor of this establishment and thus the owner, I offer any assistance to you that you may need to get that bird off the ground and your people out of here.”

Then she adds, “But there is a price. It is in both of our interests that this premise being held so that you can complete your repair. Therefore in exchange for the work of my people and the use of whatever supplies we may offer, I ask you to defend this establishment. To add incentive I offer you a sweetner. I know where you can get fuel for your bird at a reasonably safe location.”

Bob hears this as the truck coming from the North pulls up.

Gary, standing nearby steps back. “This is not good.” He whispers.

Dave also sees the truck. “Horst’s people. They came for their leader.”

Rita looks to Bob. “And they are not going to be happy when they find him dead. They’ll want Horst, and if they don’t get him, they’ll want Hammond or Earle. After that, they’ll turn to me and will be damn suspicious. What do you suggest I tell them? Or what do want to try something?”

In the parking lot.

Jim Kerr is still in the trooper car when he sees the Skin heads pull into the parking lot. He thinks about the dead skinhead inside and where this can lead too and begins to reach for his gun, the big magnum. He’s also beginning to wonder where Sean Blank is.

Mrs. Foo has managed to get into her car with Dr. Haussman and Father McCormick, and has driven up to the garage. She remains in the Outback as the skinheads pull in.

The truck pulls up and two skinheads get out of the passenger door and another two hop out of the cab of the truck. One remains inside and is not looking very good. The driver of the truck remains inside and the group can see he is wearing a pair of dark sunglasses behind the steering wheel.

Each of the skinheads is wearing camos and black, their tee shirts emblazed with neo-Nazi labels, their skin shaved back and each wearing what looks like either a baseball cap. They are also well armed. Two are carrying shotguns, one carries what looks like an M-16 with an M203 grenade launcher. All three also carry pistols and what appears to be grenades. The fourth carries a large pistol but also what appears to be a M-79 on a strap around his back he is wearing a black tee shirt over camo parachute pants tucked into spit and polished black parachute boots and on his head is a red beret.

They quickly take positions on one of the two exits of the T-Bone parking lot. The one with the M-16 takes a crouched position near the truck. The two with shotguns quickly find some nearby cover. The driver remains in the truck and smiles. The truck is still on.

The other people from the kitchen (Alice, Sally, Samantha) begin to back up towards the T-Bone, perhaps hoping to find shelter there. They have not gotten to their cars. Beth stands near the State Trooper car and keeps her gun hidden.

The one with the beret stands forward and says, “We’re here for Horst, to make sure he’s safe and protected give the nature of the current national emergency. Where is he? No one leaves here until we get Horst, and if we don’t get Horst, this place is going down.”

OCC- note that the skinheads in the driveway no one can safely move from the T-Bone to the Hotel.

On the rooftop-

OCC- Note that you can either deal with the zombies or take position against the skinheads, but not both. Should you take position against the skinheads you will either have to stand up and move, thus drawing their attention, or crawl to the other side, taking time.

“Damn, but I hope your bad luck isn’t contagious.” Says Charlie as he fires off four more from a clip but only drops one . Then he reloads.

Charlie shakes his head. “Them PMS assholes give you white people a bad name, as if that were possible. Not sure which is worse. Them or that worm meat we’ve been shootin. But with them between us and the Motel, well, we’re a bit stuck. So are all the people down there.” Then looking out over the field he notes Azadeh, “ I hope that girl doesn’t get bitten. Notice how them uglies on the end are moving after her and not towards us. Probably figure she’s a closer meal.”

In the field East of the T-Bone.

Azadeh fires another five rounds, dropping two with clean shots through the head, but only forcing one to stumble with a glancing wound. The rifle is still uncomfortable, another person’s weapon. She can fire off another five before she has to withdraw.

Bud is nearby and behind her, ready with the .38. “Better get ready to run, soon.” He calls.

“Five more and then I go. I’ll retreat and cover your run, and we leapfrog back. Got it?”

“Gotcha, a careful retreat.”

In the Comm Room-

There is no response for either Major Andrews or Maggie in Maine. Perhaps neither is listening to Stephanie.

Omaha calls back- “Yeah, got it. But damn if we can stop all the people who have been touched by these things. It’s pretty tight and our people have had to go hand-to-hand. Are you saying everyone is infected?”

Goldberg calls back. “Babe, I’m feeling like shit here. Something wicked is in my belly man. This is like that time I drank too much Tequila. Fuck…. So what is it you want to do? Better we do this while I’m still up for it cause I feel a big crash comin.”


OCC- Foo did an electric repair and computer use for figuring out the relay?

In the Hallway of the Diner-

Rosie got the keys from Rita and shrugs at Dave. “You can come with, go with Rita or help out in the garage. You choose.”

She heads down the hall where Robert and Duke are still trying to work the lock without success. The two shotguns are lieing against the wall.

Rita calls into the office. “Lynne, you find that other gun?”

Lynne calls back, “Yeah, got it and ammo for it and the shotguns too.” She finds the .38 in Earl’s desk under a dirty magazine. The shells are in file closet.

“Good girl.” Says Rosie as she tries the key in the lock. It works and the liquor door opens up. Inside are kegs of beer on the floor and rows of liquor in shelves on the sides. But there is no sign of stairs going down to any basement shelter
 
OCC - you're messing Dave & David again, johnnyboy.


In the diner -

'Some zombie is going to bite her ass... Good riddance.' Dave thinks and quickly runs after Rosie, leaving Rita behind.

He wants to get armed first before even thinking of going to the garage, so he searches the liquor closet for any hidden passage.


In the garage -

Bob looks outside.

"These guys pack too much hardware to simply fight them out in the open..." Bob says "And they'll leave some outside to retaliate if the shit hits the fan, while they send people inside to look for the headless Nazi."

"We can try to lure them somewhere that is to our advantage, like the meatlocker, but even if we'd surprise them, we'd take heavy casualties when they retaliate from outside." Bob continues "Those grenades would rip us & your diner to shreds... Even if we could coordinate an assault, which we cant because we cant communicate with the others."

OCC - god, i'm hating CoC combat rules right about now. does Bob get a military Knowledge roll for tactics (or idea)?


On the rooftop -

Luke continues shooting, not wanting to give away early that something is wrong with Horst by taking offensive positions. He switches aim towards the zombies near Azadeh and Bud, hiting three times, but downing only two since downing the second takes two shots.

Luke is furiously trying to think of some plan to get rid of those nazi assholes (or buy some time), but much of his focus is needed to shoot the zombies.
 
In the garage-
Rita looks out at the skinheads by the truck. "I ain't seen all of them before, but that leader guy, I think he's called Buzz or somethin'. He's former airborne, ranger too I think. He's one of the big guns at the PMS ranch. Seen him come by and flirt with the girls a few times."

Dr. Haussman has left the Outback and enters the garage where she sees Bo.

"What happened to him?" She asks as she approached. Then she sees Sean's dead body and stops. "Oh no, oh no.... not Sean.."

"The trooper and Sean were both shot by Hammond." Says Randall

Rita also looks at both Earl and Hammond. "He wasn't worth much, my husband. But then neither was my brother. Both just a pair of pricks."

Sally sees that Haussman is emotionally someplace else and turns to Bo, checks his pulses and bandages.

"Where is Kimberly? Did Kimberly give you something for him?"

Randall says, "Kimberly went with a black guy and an indian dude to bring fuel to a helicopter pilot. She gave me this."

Sally looks at the hyperdermic and nods. "You've done a good job with the bandages. I doubt I could do better. But the bullet... I can't do anything about that. Doctor? Doctor?" She tries to get the doctor's attention, to get her to focus. But for now Dr. Haussman is somewhere else and can't concentrate.

"Poor Sean... He shouldn't have come." She mutters to herself.

Buddy and Max run in from the junkyard and greet Rita. "You dogs stop your slobberin'." She scolds them.

Gary looks at Bob. "They start shootin and that helicopter's going to get full of holes, and we'll be here forever trying to get it fixed."

Inside the T-Bone-
Alice, Samantha have backed into the T-bone and see that the zombie horde approaching from the east has only gotten closer.

"I wish I had a rifle" says Samantha.

"I wish I were somewhere else." Says Alice.

Tisha begins to tremble as she sees the zombies closing in. "We need to get away, get away, get away."

Willie begins to stear her towards the ladder for the roof.


On the rooftop-
Ashley, having finished with Luke's bullets peers over the side to get a glimpse of what's going on.

"This doesn't look good at all." She says, "If those guys don't get Horst they mean what they say. They'll tear this place apart and kill everyone in it."

Charlie continues to shoot but perhaps he's distracted by Ashley, for he only hits one of his targets. But the creature's head explodes and collapses into the high grass.

"If you're right than they might try to lob a grenade up here, or burn the T-Bone down below. Hell they might just set the gas tanks to fire." Says Charlie as he reloads.


In the liquor closet-

OCC- Dave roll spot hidden.

Dave runs to the liquor cabinet eagerly pushing away the others outside in his desperate to find a gun. Rosie, Robert and Duke watch somewhat bemused as Dave barges through without even a simple introduction.

Robert and Duke look over Dave's shoulder but don't see any hidden passageways. They do see kegs and cases of beer on the floor. "Maybe its under all that beer." Says Robert.

"I hope it doesn't all go to waste." Says Duke.

Lynne is behind them, happily having found Earl's .38.

East of the T-Bone-

Azadeh takes her last shots before she accepts that she has to fall back. she hits two and brings both down, but scores a glancing blow on the third shot, then she blows its head apart with an impaling shot.

Happy with the results she reluctantly decides to give the field and retreat to another position. She stands up and runs back as the creatures close in.

But in her escape she suddenly trips. She is able to roll it through and is unhurt but the ghouls are closing in.

Bud fires his .38 at the nearest ghoul, putting two .38 rounds in the creatures head. But when he fires for the next one, the round does not go off.

Three other ghouls quickly close in on Azadeh.
 
OCC- Mr. Foo passed 2 Electrical Repair rolls and 1 Computer Use roll so far. My impression is that the second set of rolls is for setting up the relay and that the computer is already repaired. If so, this Computer Use roll below is the second roll needed for the relay. The Electrical Repair roll below is for maintaining the ability to communicate while the relay is being set up. If I needed 2 sets of Electrical Repair and Computer Use rolls for the computer and a third set for the relay, let me know. I'm rolling Computer Use for Mr. Foo first so that if he succeeds Stephanie can do other things while he works.

How far into setting up the relay can I get before I have to decide which station I want to connect to Warren AFB? If we do choose Nevada, Stephanie already succeeded at a Persuade on Captain Powers in Nevada earlier and he said he would be willing to listen to Major Andrews, but he clearly doesn't want to speak to her any more. Does Major Andrews also need to succeed at Persuade to get him to cooperate? Could Mr. Foo help there, since his Persuade skill is very good and he is the authorized operator of his station?

Mr. Foo succeeded at his Computer Use roll (9% roll vs. 41% skill): http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=646062

Mr. Foo succeeded at his Electrical Repair roll (59% roll vs. 70% skill) to allow use of the comm gear while the relay is being set up: http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=646066

Saw the new post just before I submitted this one. It was Hammond who shot both Bo and Sean, but maybe Randall just got it wrong. Also, some of the links to Invisible Castle don't work because the URL tags have errors.

IC-
At the garage-
"If anyone hurt and can be moved," said Mrs. Foo, "load them in back. I wait in car with motor running so we can leave to motel fast. First, though, someone needs to convince those guys that we have medical emergency and need to get past. They won't listen to me, that for sure. Father, can you help the doctor?"

In the Comm Room-
"All done," said Mr. Foo as he finished saving the data. He closed up the laptop and set to work on the communications gear. He was already quite familiar with it, so he had no trouble. He was even able to find a way to reroute the wiring so that the apparatus could continue to function while he worked on it.

"I'm so sorry," Stephanie told Goldberg. "It sounds like you're infected. If you know how long it was between when your friend got bitten and when he attacked you that'll give us an idea of how long you can operate your station. We have to set up a relay here so you can talk to Warren AFB which will take at least fifteen minutes. More since we've got a whole bunch of infected people coming our way and we'll have to gun them down. Call it twenty, then. Do you think you can function for at least the next hour? If not, there are other operators who might be able to do the job, but we need to know soon. I wish I could help you, but coming up with a cure on such short notice is a tall order. I've been speculating that an EMP might be effective, but that's just a guess and it would wreck your gear unless you unplugged it and wrapped it completely in foil first, even if you have the electronics skills and equipment to make a simple EMP generator from my instructions. Over."

To Omaha, Stephanie said: "Everyone probably has the compound in them, which I think acts as a catalyst, but I still don't know what triggers the infection. It doesn't follow the typical disease model and isn't of this world. The bite seems to activate it, though, from what Major Andrews said. Mr. Foo just finished fixing Dr. Hausmann's laptop and the data is okay. I'm going to wrap the computers in foil now just in case and take them upstairs while Mr. Foo takes over here. We only have minutes before that mob arrives, and he still needs to try to contact the Russians before they do something silly. Their aircraft carrier was overrun with infected people and our naval forces had to fire upon them when the surviving crew tried to land in Florida. Over."

"Chinese fire drill," said Mr. Foo, switching places with Stephanie. He began trying to find operational Russian listening posts like his own. "While you're up, lock all the doors leading outside except the one by the balcony stairs." He handed her the keys. "We don't want any infected people getting inside while we're upstairs, and if they do get in at least we'll know."

"Right," said Stephanie, heading out of the room to lock the doors and grab the foil. A pulse could hit at any time if the Russians panicked and pushed the button, so she intended to wrap the computers before bringing them upstairs. If the foil was already up there, though, she'd have to bring the laptops upstairs first.
 
On the rooftop -

"Well, I always figured I'd go out with a bang." Luke says with a straight face, leaving Ashley and Charlie guessing whether he meant it or if it was a bad attempt at humor.

Luke continues his barrage hitting three more, wounding one, killing another and reducing another to a bloody pulp.

"Charlie, heads up! The chick took a tumble, we need to cover her." Luke says as he notices Azadeh down on the ground "She might've bit off more than she can chew..."


In the liquor closet -

"Bingo!" Dave yells as he quickly finds what he was looking for (Spot Hidden: success 10 roll vs 40% skill).

"Come help me, quick." He adds "Time is the one thing we don't have."


In the garage -

"Flirting with the girls?" Bob asks "Maybe we can use that to our advantage. Stall them somehow..."

"And they seem to have a wounded guy with them. Maybe we can get them to let Bo past, if we trade some medical help for it."

"We need to keep them out for now, at least until we figure out how to go about this... Maybe tell them we've already had casualties thanks to triggerhappy people and that we're no longer taking chances with both Hammond and Earl dead. "
 
North of Brownson

Michael now begins to drive slowly, but he is still paying attention at the environment in case he has to pick up speed.

He drives carefully towards the airfield, to the left is the airstrip, he proceeds carefully as he sees the helicopter land.

Michael thinks he could cut distance by getting off the road and driving towards the strip wich is now parallel to the road, but a bit more ahead near where the chopper is.
 
In the Comm Room-

Goldberg responds. “Butch got bitten last night. A kid if you believe it, bit his arm. One of the locals. Supposedly they were looking at some meteorite or some shit and something fucked up came out of the woods or something and stung the kids. Nasty buggers. Looked like mosquitos kind of. Ugly. Me and Butch… we were kind of fucked up… Local moonshine made out of coconut, pineapple. Ok, so there were the mushrooms. I thought I was like hallucinating a bad trip… But all that screaming…. I went back to the ville to tell the locals about all this and Butch went to see what was with the kids. I hear him screamin and running. Damn kid on his arm! So I grabbed that machete and whacked its head off and still it kept biting him! I had to take a hammer to that little girl’s head…. Bad bite. I tried to stop the bleeding and then tied a tourniquet around it. Butch was complaining that he was feeling pretty hot, feverish. His fever went way up then sank real fucking low. He was conscious of all of this for a couple of hours. Maybe the tourniquet helped, I don’t know. I put the old guy down in the bunk and tried to give him lots of water and penicillin and shit, tried to call the local hospital for a helicopter to come get him, but it was all nuts on line. Then when I’m talking to you before I see him up and comin at me, his eyes all red and shit….”

Mr. Foo has figured out that the reason why he’s able to communicate with other listening posts is because someone in Langley has been able to wire the systems together. However, for him to relay from another listening post to Warren would require a decision early in preparing the relay.

Ellen Cody knocks on the door to the Comm room. “Mr. Foo. Looks like trouble over at the T-Bone. There’s a bunch of them skinhead punks holding up the place and I see a whole lot of ugly white people coming down the highway.”

Andrews comes on line for just a blurb. “Stephanie. We got a couple of problems here. We’ve had a penetration at our main communications center in Cheyenne, where I am right now, is in jeopardy. Our guys are trying to close down the facility from inside, but we may need to evacuate to a more secure location. Also 400th Strategic Missile, one of the northern sites, also has a report of penetration through the wire…. We may need to detonate near the base. You are outside the blast radius but there’s no telling about fallout. Do you have a fallout shelter nearby? Will be back in touch with you when we are secure.” Then Andrews is off line again.

In the Meatlocker-

Horst arms flicks to the side and it seems the head has turned.
(Flip roll sanity)


West of Brownson-

Baldwin continues to drive through the ruins of Brownson on the way to what used to be a local community college. The burnt and destroyed buildings are everywhere, but there are also individuals, horribly burnt and some still burning, stumbling about as well.
(All in truck roll sanity).

Baldwin is noticeably disturbed by what he sees but keeps driving. Kimberly grimaces but seems fine . “Take it easy bud. We’re almost there.” She says, trying to comfort Baldwin.

Brownson Airfield-

Erica Spears lands her helicopter and looks around. “Where the hell are they?” She checks her sidearm and is feeling very unarmed. She continues to look around when a beaten up state trooper’s vehicle with its windshield smashed in swerves onto the field and begins to move in her direction. Inside the car a bleeding Joe Barring sees the helicopter and speeds across.

North of Brownson

Michael can see the helicopter putting down on a barren grassy field. From where he is, he can see no one is approaching the helicopter. Then he sees a beaten up state trooper’s car pull into the field and head towards the helicopter at full speed.

In the garage-

Rita, hunched over so she’s low to the line of sight of the skinheads approaches the door. “Well there.” She says, “ I don’t reckon those skinhead motherfuckers are going to let us just dance across the road to your hotel. Also if you think I’m going to sell you my chow, you are grossly mistaken. If you want to form a partnership however, well that’s negotiable.”

David is checking his 9 mm. “Partner,” He says to Bob “They PMS dudes are a bad bunch. I can’t think this will end well.”

(OCC- You want to spread the weapons around more effectively so the right people have the right guns?- If so let me know how).

Sally seeing to Bo injects him with the syringe and soon Bo's eyes flutter open.
"Hold on cowboy. You're still dinged up pretty bad but you can move. Not to much or you'll start bleedin. Let the doctor look at ya, ok?"

(@ Handy- Bo will take you a few minutes to get on your feet or to start talking. Let's give it a few posts ok?)

In the Parking lot-

The skinheads look impatient. The two with shotguns have moved closer to the T-Bone, using the parked cars to cover their approach. The one with the M-16/203 seems relaxed aiming his weapon at the T-Bone. Buzz removes a pack from the truck and throws it under the stationary helicopter. Then he calls over to the people inside the hotel.

“What the fuck seems to be the problem? You folks best not be holding Horst hostage or we’ll skin the lot of you alive and then feed you to them gravecrawlers. Don’t be trying my patience and force me to take extreme measures.”

Jim Kerr has snuck out of the state trooper’s car and is staying low, his pistol in hand.

Father McCormick sneaks out from the Outback and into the garage where he looks at Dr. Haussman. The woman is clearly in grief over the lost of one of the dead men, but there is little Father McCormick can do. Perhaps he can preach to a community or convince a community to follow a more moral road. He can help a person understand their grief, but he cannot take it away.

In the Liquor closet-

Dave finds the trap door under a keg of beer and quickly moves it.

Lynne sneaks her head in and says, “Hell Dave, had you asked me where the trap door was I could have told ya.”

Rosie asks, “What’s going on outside?”

Robert and Duke help move the heavy kegs of beer out of the way.

OCC- Lift the trapdoor or look for traps? Or how paranoid are you?

On the rooftop-

Charlie Moon fires off four rounds at the creatures closing in on Azadeh, hitting each time, dropping four of the creatures. He seems visibly pleased with himself.

Azadeh is able to roll clear and get away. She gives Charlie a quick thumbs up as she retreats back to a position near the kitchen door and takes a crouched position as Bud follows her back. Bud is looking a bit winded.

Those on the rooftop can see that a human being, even an older man like Bud, can easily outrun these creatures.

Ashley has finished loading the clips for Luke and has done the same for Charlie. She heads over to the trapdoor and sees that Samantha and Alice are heading for the dropdown ladder.

OCC- More tomorrow-
 
OCC- I'm guessing Stephanie has locked the other doors and found the foil where it was supposed to be, since you didn't say she couldn't, and has brought it back to the comm room. I think she's had time to do this, since my last post was simultaneous with the one before your last post. In order to avoid needless exposition, I'm going to assume she was on her way back when the calls came in and Ellen arrived and she heard what Mr. Foo did. If she didn't, he'll just tell her. If she didn't get the foil for some reason, let me know and I'll edit.

I'll wait a few posts before having Bo do anything remotely strenuous. Once he can move again, he should have his shotgun back since he's better with it than with his pistol and better than the others with a shotgun. If anyone else can use a pistol, Bo can then give his Beretta to someone else. If nobody else is good with one who doesn't have a better weapon, someone could slip it and his extra clips to Mrs. Foo (her skill is fairly low, though). Gary's better with a rifle than a shotgun. Jim could give him Wallace's rifle, and he can use Bo's shotgun in the meantime. McCormick is probably the best with a rifle of everyone in the garage, though, so he should get it first. Did someone take Sean's rifle? If not, there's one for each of them. Sean's rifle is better, so if it's still there McCormick should get it.

Also, the last post said Buzz was threatening the people in the hotel, but I think you meant the diner since that's where he knew Horst would be and he's in the diner's parking lot. Nasty move with him throwing what must be a bomb under the chopper, no doubt with a remote control detonator. Still, at least it's not at the gas pumps.

Stephanie succeeded at her Biology roll (44% roll vs. 77% skill) to deduce that Butch's red eyes could mean he was already dead: http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=656255

Mr. Foo succeeded at his Sanity roll (30% roll vs. 85% stat) to keep his grip when he sees the oncoming zombie horde: http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=656285

Mrs. Foo succeeded at her Bargain roll (6% roll vs. 35% skill) to come to an arrangement with Rita: http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=656315

IC-
In the Comm Room-
Stephanie rushed back into the room, clutching the roll of aluminum foil. Mr. Foo got out of her way and let her resume her post, filling her in on any details she might have missed. She took Dr. Hausmann's laptop, smiling at the good repair job. "Thank you so much!" she said, starting to wrap it completely, making sure to leave no gaps at all. If a pulse did hit, it would be protected.

"Any time," said Mr. Foo. "I can continue setting up the relay, but matters outside require my attention first. Stay here until the horde gets close, then get upstairs fast and lock up behind you. I'm not going to let you get killed. Maybe the T-Bone or the PMS compound has a bomb shelter, but this place doesn't." He knew that if the missile site did go up, they'd at least have a little time to get to a shelter before the fallout arrived. Holding his MP-5, he headed outside with Ellen Cody. "Bring Azadeh's pistol with you."

Stephanie first notified Warren AFB of what Ellen had said. "I don't know if you can hear me," she said, "but I say again: aim for their heads."

"If what happened to Butch is anything to go by," Stephanie told Goldberg as she wrapped the computer, "you can keep functioning for a couple of hours. We'll probably need to go to one of the other operators, though, especially since the infected are near you. You've done more than you know to help already, anyway. Let's see if there's anything we can do to stop this infection. Now that we know its electrical nature, that opens up new possibilities.

"Before we go so far as to generate an EMP, let's see if something less drastic will work first. If you got bit on the arm or leg you should apply a tourniquet if you haven't already. Do you have any equipment with you that can be used to jam electrical transmissions, or can you get it? That might stop whatever's powering this phenomenon, at least temporarily. Of course, you wouldn't be able to talk to me without turning it off while you do so. We could also try putting you in a Faraday cage to stop the EM radiation. You'll need a lot of aluminum foil - and a way to breathe. Hey, I've got it! Can you get your hands on a diving suit and oxygen tank? It would be completely self-contained, and if you wear it and wrap it totally in foil with no gaps then you'll be shielded. You'll need to keep refilling the tank every so often or swap it out with a fresh one and rewrap it, but if it works it could buy you some time. A jolt from a defibrillator or a taser might help, but it might just hurt you.

"The mosquito creatures you mentioned sound like what attacked the operator in Canada. You weren't hallucinating - those were alien beings that others have seen too. As for Butch's red eyes...his blood vessels must have ruptured! But nobody could survive that...which means he was already dead! That would fit with what I was saying earlier about galvanism and the severed heads still biting. Let me know what you want to try. I've got to let the CDC know about this. Over."

Stephanie called up Omaha next. When she finished wrapping Dr. Hausmann's computer she packed it away in its carrying case and then started shielding her own laptop as she spoke. She told the Crisis Response Center what she had learned from talking to Goldberg and her ideas for possible treatment. "If I'm right," she said, "the infected people running amok are actually dead! It sounds like they're being animated electrically, kind of like in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Heads that are severed still bite, but smashing them works and shooting them might too. The key is to damage or destroy the brain, I'd guess. Over."

Outside the motel-
While Stephanie was communicating, Mr. Foo led Ellen outside and up the nearby staircase to the balcony. As he went up, he saw the massive mob of infected people closing in on the T-Bone. Several had already been downed, but there were still over 150 of them coming. There was something unnatural in their movements - robotic, like Stephanie had said. Some of them bore quite horrible injuries, and it was a wonder they were able to move at all. Though disturbed, Mr. Foo kept his wits and remained focused on the task at hand.

"That horde is too far away for us to hit," said Mr. Foo to Ellen, quietly so the skinheads below couldn't hear, "but they'll be here all too soon. As for these unsavory fellows, the next move is up to them. Move further down the balcony; if they start lobbing grenades at us there's no sense in both of us getting blown up. Send Miss Cooper around the balcony to the west side, for her protection and to see if anything is coming from that direction. If these guys try anything they're within my range, but we'd better hold our fire for now. In the meantime, please keep barricading the other stairs."

Mr. Foo stood by the railing, pointing his MP-5 in the general direction of the advancing mob, but ready to turn it on the skinheads if anything happened below.

At the garage-
Bo nodded ever so slightly, then held still to let Sally and Dr. Hausmann help him. That was all he could manage so far anyway, and he was still in a lot of pain. He didn't know what had happened while he was unconscious, but he knew it was bad. There was at least one more body in the garage than there had been before.

"Yes," Mrs. Foo whispered to Rita, "we should be partners. We all need to stick together to stay alive. You have food and water and guns. We have shelter, information, and means to communicate with outside world. I think we can come to arrangement that good for all. I sorry I judge you earlier. It not your fault Hammond and Earl crooks." She began to negotiate the terms of the deal with Rita, using every bit of shrewdness she could muster.
 
In the Liquor closet -

"No - Fucking - Time." Dave replies to Lynne "We got zombies a few minutes away and we got a bunch of PMS nutjobs coming in looking for Horst, whose brains just happen to be splattered all over the diner."

Dave just lifts the trap door, but turns his head away instinctively anyway. He sure hopes Rita or Lynne would've said anything if there were traps... It'd be stupid to get hurt this way.


On the rooftop -

Luke continues shooting: hitting four, of which 3 die and one is seriously hurt. A ghust of wind might kill it.

"Any bright ideas, chief?" Luke asks Charlie.

OCC - if luke were to move to a more suitable location against the PMS lads, would he still be able to fire at the zombies?


In the garage -

"Decision time: Do we try to reason with them, or do we get ready for a fight?" Bob asks.

OCC - yes welsh, we need to redistribute the weapons again. also, what are the 'hidden' weapon stats for Dave & Bob?
 
Continued from before-

On the roof-
OCC- No, not until the wave of Zombies reaches the T-Bone will you be able to fire on both groups. The Skinheads are to the West, the zombies to the east. Zombie are currently in normal range.

IC- Charlie reloads the rifle. "Ideas? About the skinheads? Some on the res say that the only good white man is a dead one, but I'm not convinced. You're not so bad when you don't talk. But that's not to say that talking wouldn't help. It's better than having a gunfight, I reckon."

In the liquor closet-

There are no traps on the doorway leading down, but as he swing the door way up he Dave sees there is little light. Steps lead down, deep into the ground. There is a lightbulb down there, but with the electricity gone, that's little help.

Lynne peering down over Dave's shoulder says, "Gosh I hope there's nothing down there. Looks spooky."

Robert and Duke check to see if the shotguns are loaded.

In the Hallway,

Willie leads Tisha towards the ladder going up. Alice will follow Tisha. Samantha seems uncertain. But with so many people in the hallway, it's difficult to move around.

In the garage-

Sally tries to continue to talk to Haussman but has no luck in getting through to the woman.

"I can't get to her." She says to Randall.

Randall shakes his head. "Perhaps she's gone through too much today. Maybe that waittress can speak to her? She seemed to know what she was doing."

"YOu mean Ashley?" Chimes in Mitchell. "Not sure where she is."

"Probably up on the roof." Says Rita. " I think that's were she was going."

Gary is looking at Sean Blank's rifle. "Hey Bob, I ain't bad with a rifle."

Jimmy shrugs. He's still unsure how to get the safety off.

OCC- your best bet with Dr. Haussman is Ashley. Probably your best negotiator is Rosie.

THe Zombies are nearly a quarter mile away, meaning you have about 4 minutes before the bad ones show up.
 
OCC- I also remembered that Rita has both Hammond's .357 Magnum and her own .38. She could give one of them to someone else, provided she learns to share. Maybe Mrs. Foo's excellent Bargain roll has helped there. In addition to Mrs. Foo, Dr. Hausmann can use a pistol and doesn't have a weapon, but she's currently out of it. Once she recovers, she could use it with her good arm, but it's not clear whether her broken arm is the one she favors or not. Sally can also use a pistol, as can Ashley if she's coming to the garage. Jim was holding Wallace's rifle, not Sean's. I'm not sure if anyone picked that one up yet (did Robert take it?), but if not then Roger McCormick would be the best choice to use it.

I also noticed that the link to Stephanie's picture was broken because the website hosting it moved to a new location. The new one is located here: http://www.unificationfrance.com/IMG/jpg/amanda2_site.jpg

Mr. Foo succeeded at his Psychology roll (39% roll vs. 82% skill) on Buzz and the other skinheads (if each person needs a separate roll, then this one applies to Buzz and I can roll for the others later): http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=661794

IC-
In the Comm Room-
As Stephanie finished wrapping the laptops and packing them into their carrying cases, she finally had a free moment to investigate what the EMPs caused by the nuclear blasts might have done to the infected. Did they cut off whatever was powering their animation permanently, or only temporarily, she wondered? It occurred to her that the aliens might be able to reactivate them, and if anyone died after a pulse they would probably still rise up and attack.

It started to sink in just how devious the aliens' plan was. Everyone the mosquito-like creatures killed would become an instrument of destruction, as would people who died from other causes. The bodies might not even need to be fresh, though if they had died more than a few years ago they wouldn't have the compound in them. Then each walking corpse would attack and infect other people, either by slaying them outright or just by biting them, thus adding to their ranks. And all this could be done without the extraterrestrials ever revealing themselves. They could be powering the effect from one or more cloaked ships in Earth's orbit or even farther away, or they could even be using the Earth's magnetic field as she had speculated earlier. It couldn't be solar powered, as Goldberg had encountered some of them last night. If the aliens were transmitting some form of EM radiation, it should be possible to detect it and maybe even trace it back to its source. But even if they could locate any alien spacecraft, could anyone do anything about it?

On the motel's balcony-
Mr. Foo carefully watched the skinheads from his vantage point. They were advancing towards the diner using cover and working as a unit, but their backs were exposed to him and most of them were within his MP-5's effective range if it came to that. It had better range than other submachineguns, but it was still just a baby brother to an assault rifle and he would be hard pressed to hit Buzz in the T-Bone's parking lot if he had to.

Still, he would rather not have to. There were still many infected people lumbering towards them, and why should he fight two groups of enemies when if they waited long enough both groups would be forced to fight each other? If the skinheads started something or if the people in the diner attacked them preemptively, he would have to intervene. But if that didn't happen, he could bide his time. He recalled the words of the Master, Sun Tzu: He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. This was not the time to fight...not yet. In the meantime, he observed the enemy's actions and learned from them while he himself remained invisible.

At the garage-
"We should try talking first," said Mrs. Foo. "Why fight both skinheads and zombies if there another way? If we can't convince them, we can maybe trick them or at least buy time to get ready. Once zombies get too close, skinheads will have to fight them too."

Bo slowly started to regain his senses and his strength. He gathered that the PMS had finally shown up to check up on Horst, and at just the wrong time. Dr. Hausmann was too distraught to be of much help, and he wished he could do something to help her, but he couldn't even speak yet.
 
Meat Locker

Flip turns quickly, to see the flenching arm of his former mentor. Flip knew what he had to do. He swallowed hard, and winced; reaching for the can of tomatos. Grasping the can of tomatos, flip Walked twards the re-animating corpse of his former mentor. His blank face was accented with the deep void that passed through his brain. The floor was visable through this hole. He squated next to the corpse, and raised the can over his head; positioning his self above horst. Flip swings, and hits horst's head with the canned tomatos. Swinging it fairly hard, he felt the impact, the crack was acocompanied by a sound simmilar to a hand slapping a thick gelloiten
 
On the roof -

Luke sighs at the dreadful situation they were in. Zombies, ok, he could handle that. He reckoned he probably would kick the bucket and get his ass eaten by the zombies on the long term, but he'd sell his hairy ass for a mighty steep price. The nazi muffins were a wholely different thing. Facing possible destruction by their hand seemed so utterly pointless. Humans fighting humans in a time of need was just plain wrong.

His volley hits four out of five, but only killing one and terribly wounding three. Cursing he decides to leave the wounded zombies be for the time being, the two down there & up close could probably tag them easily. Having to re-aim for them would loose too much time & waste potential killshots.


In the liquor closet -

Dave lights his zippo lighter and hurries down the stairs (probably hoping to find a generator downstairs).

"If you got a flashlight or whatever, bring it asap!" he yells up "I wouldn't advice flares, but if you got nothing else, I'll take it..."


In the garage -

"Oh fuck it..." Bob mumbles.

"Gary, give back the shotgun to the cop now that he's coming around. Take the heavy rifle and go look for those guns that were mentioned at the diner, take the kid with you." he says motioning at Randalls gun and Jim.

"Kid, give the rifle to him." he says telling Jim to give the ruger rifle to Randall.

"Rita, walk with me to the diner." Bob says as he starts walking.

"I need you -or someone you pick and that the PMS guys know- to tell them they can't enter, because we've had trouble with trigger happy sons of bitches. Tell them Earl and Hammond are dead & some cops are down too. That should rattle their cage a little." he starts explaining "Tell them we can't allow trigger happy people inside, because we're too afraid that the shit will hit the fan again."

"Once you got their attention, stall as long as possible." he continues "If you can't stall any longer, tell them Horst was probably infected and that we locked him in the meatlocker with Flip -who is unhurt- to guard over him and care for him."

"Tell them we'll allow one guy to enter. But that they'll probably refuse. Eventually crack and let 2 in as a sign of good faith."

"If you see an opening, you might as well offer medical help for their wounded man, but I don't think we should play that card yet."

"In the meanwhile, I'll try to figure something out..."

(Bob is headed for the meatlocker)
 
OCC- Suaside- do me a favor and tell me in the occ- which character has which gun.
as in
Rita- .357
Bo- 12 gauge mariner shotgun
Duke-
Thanks. This will save time and confusion. Please post in the character thread or send me a pm.

In the DIner-

Rita looks appalled at what Bob is suggesting. "You want me, or someone I know, to go out an negotiate with those assholes. Are you mad? What person do you think would be willing to go out there and talk to them. Because what they might do is let that person go out there, and then rape and kill her just to make a point that they don't have patience to negotiate with you."

OCC- Sorry, but Bob will have to do a better job trying to convince Rita or get someone else to try. But she makes a good point- anyone who goes out there risks their life.

In the comm room-

The comm system buzzes back to life. "Hey. What do you want me to do?" It's Goldberg calling in from Hawaii and it interrupts Stephanie's speculations about aliens. "I don't have much stuff around here. I got a tourni on, sure, but wrapping up stuff with aluminum, no. I just got a little house overlooking a nice beach on a small island."


Omaha has also sent a text message. "Reports coming in from Abroad concerning rates of infection. Infection continues to spread at drastic rates. 90% civil authorities non-functioning."

There has been no news from Maine or Alaska nor Major Andrews.

In the Meatlocker-

Flip's use of the can of tomatos crushes Horsts head in, splattering blood onto Flip's clothes and denting the can.

In the Motel.

Mr. Foo watches the skinheads move. Their attention is on the diner and so far, they have not paid him attention.

(OCC- Foo roll an idea about the pack tossed under the helicopter if you wish to speculate on it).

From what he can tell about Buzz, and its not much as he has rarely seen the man, the skinhead leader looks serious. If they have an outsider observing them, than its unclear how they communicated. But those in the truck look like they have already been bloodied and have suffered. There is at least one wounded man inside.

And Buzz? Buzz is impatient, tense and anxious. He wants to get quick results and will be unlikely to have much patience with delays. Undoubtably he knows about the approaching horder of ghouls even now closing in.

Ellen Cody and Jenny Cooper continue to work on the barricades. Two have been fairly well constructed, but the third has been giving them trouble.

She approaches Mr. Foo. "Mr.Foo I think we got two barricades up, but the third isn't finished. I doubt we'll be able to do all the work before them things arrive. I don't think we can hold them off either. Maybe we should evacuate?"


Near the Ladder up to the rooftop-

Ashley helps up Tisha to the rooftop as Willie remains below to help her up. Behind them is Alice.

"Let's go. I don't like the idea of being here when those things arrive." SHe says.

"How close are they?" Asks Rosie.

"Real close." Says Alice, the sound of gunfire above punctuating her words. "Worse, we can't get out with our cars as a bunch of skinheads are blocking the road wanting Horst. Who's Horst?"

"The big ugly skinhead that got killed earlier and broke the doctor's arm." Says Rosie.

"I think he's in the meatlocker now with the other skinhead. That PI locked him up." Says Aliace.

"Does Rita know?" Asks Rosie.

Alice shrugs.

Rosie calls back to the others in the liquor closet."I'll be right back. I want to see what's going on out front. Sounds like trouble."

Ashley, overhearing this, calls down, "Rosie be careful. Those skinheads mean it."

In the liquor cabinet-

Lynne goes back to the liquor cabinet with some three flashlights, giving one to Robert, one to Dave and keeping one herself.

Dave leads down the stairs to the first landing and finds that it goes even deeper. He descends down another flight of stairs and finds himself in a larger room that has many boxes of both wood and cardboard. A quick look around reveals that there is another exit of the room leading to another stairwell down.

The place is some kind of storage all marked- VCRs, Levi Jeans, Liquor, Cigerrettes, Watches, Expensive luggage, DVD players, Sweaters, Beer, Cooking supplies, Leather jackets, televisions, cellphones.

The shelter is not earthened but seems hardened and old, concrete and wood with materials unlike that of the rest of the diner.

(Roll Idea for more first impressions on the fallout shelter, also roll spot hidden and listen).

In the Kitchen-

Azadeh fires off with the AR-15 as Bud retreats back to the building. She http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=671506 three of the ghouls[/url] hit by Luke, takes one down on her own and blows the head of one apart.

Bud runs past her towards the kitchen. "Get the door ready to lock as soon as I come in." She tells him. She eyes the approaching horde. Soon they will be ontop of the T-bone.

Brownson's Abandoned Airfield-

Erica Spears is outside her helicopter as State Trooper Joe Barring approaches, carrying his shotun in his arms.

"The others aren't here yet?" He asks.

At that moment the truck carrying Baldwin,Kimberly and Wallace approach the airport carrying a trail of smoke.

Behind them the ghouls are beginning to follow. Some are so badly twisted and damage they can only crawl, others are still smoking. But a few are running.

Michael still approaching the airport, sees the semi approach as he makes his approach. He only sees the ghouls racing towards his car from the far end before the creature puts its fist through the passenger window.

In the parking lot-

THe two skinheads with the shotguns continue to get in close, staying low. Buzz kicks the dirt and says something to his partner, who shakes his head. The one in the back of the truck is looking worse. The driver of the truck is still waiting patiently.

Finally Buzz yells, "You're wasting my time. It's simple, give us Horst and we let you live. Don't and we'll bring this place down."

In the garage-

Sally continues to try to talk to Dr. Haussman but without success

She looks to Bo and sees him coming out of his daze. "Take it easy trooper. You took a hit and you're hurt but you're coming out of it."

Bo can see her and the others in the diner. He can also hear the skinheads calling out.

On the roof top-

Charlie fires off four shots dropping one and hitting another.

"No way we're going to get all of then ghouls. We might want to get the rest of those people below to someplace safer as I doubt they'll be able to hold off on their own.
 
In the Diner -

"Did I say you had to go outside?" Bob says as his neckmuscles visually start to contract. The bodybuilder was obviously annoyed.

"Get on the roof and talk from there. Or get someone to do it for you." Bob adds as he continues towards the meatlocker "Look I'm a helo pilot, not James Bond. I don't have all the answers and I don't know these people. You do. I can't anticipate on their moves..."

"We're outgunned and my only way out of here is in the line of fire." he pleads "What do you expect from me? I'm trying to work with what I have."

"If no one stalls, we'll probably die regardless."


On the roof -

"You might want to head to the Motel or something." Luke says as he sees more people getting on the diner roof "We can't hold out here long enough here. If you really want to stay here, bring up some supplies, quickly. But you're probably better off at the Motel. I'll stay here regardless."

Luke hits four more zombies while trying to cover Azadeh and Bud, finishing off Charlie's, killing two others and seriously wounding another.


In the fallout shelter -

Dave quickly looks around trying to make sense of this place while cautiously entering.

OCC:
Idea: shelter (1d100=7) vs Idea 60% (success)
Idea: listen (1d100=85) vs Listen 50% (failure)
Idea: spot hidden (1d100=81) vs Spot Hidden 40% (failure)
 
In the Diner-

Rita shakes her head. "This is damn bad shit. Never did like this business with Horst. Always knew it would end badly. Not sure what I can say to them.

Rosie enters from the hallway, sees both of them talking. "What's goin' on? Can I help?"

In the Basement of the T-bone-

Dave looks at the construction materials. The place was obviously built awhile before the T-Bone or by a different manufacturer. He's not sure how old the T-Bone is but has always figured it dates back to the 1970s, eons ago.

But the look of the place looks even older, but not unlike what he's seen long before, and at first he can't put his finger on it. Then it hits him. The construction is similiar to the missile silos they have been changing into private residences. This is government constructed probably back to the 1950s when there was a lot of government work being done in the area because the Cold War was heating up.

Perhaps Hammond and Earl didn't build this bombshelter, but built the T-Bone atop the shelter itself.

But if its like that missile silo, then it might be very deep indeed.

But if this is not a missile silo, than what is it?

Meanwhile Lynne raises a finger and says, "Hush up."

For a moment everyone stops speaking.

"Didn't you hear it?" She asks.

"What?" Asks Duke, "My ears are still ringing from all the gunfire."

"Yeah I didn't hear anything either." Adds Robert.

"Sounds like.... screaming." Says Lynne. "But distorted like."

"Maybe you're just hearing things?" Asked Robert.

"Bullshit." Says Lynne. "Here look."

She points down on the floor. It seems that the dust has been unsettled, as if someone moved through.

Duke kneels down. "Looks like someone got dragged through here." He points to the floor, "See this... this is someone's feet being dragged. And it looks like they dragged them through the room and down that way."

He points to the corridor that leads to another set of stairs, going down.

"Why would someone be dragged down here?" Asks Robert.

Lynne shakes her head. "Earl and Hammond maybe. You have no idea what they were up to. This stuff here, probably all stolen. Considering how deep this thing is, hell, there could be someone down there."

"You think that's were they moved the guns?" Asks Robert.

Lynne shrugs. "Maybe, but I think the guns were pretty heavy. I doubt Earl and Hammond would have carried crates of guns down very far. More likely they are hiding in these boxes."

OCC- so are the guns in this room or further in the shelter?

On the roof-

Charlie shakes his head. "Go across the street to the motel? YOu think then skinny fuckers are just going to let them go across? They want Horst. I doubt they will let anyone go until they get him."

Charlie shoots but hits only one but the creature goes down hard.

"Them people need to get out of there. Maybe come up here and pull up the ladder behind 'em."

Ashley helps Tisha to the roof. Willie follows right behind as Alice makes her way up.

In the kitchen-

Azadeh continues to shoots, hitting each time and finishes off the one Luke wounded and bringing down three others. Bud reloads his .38 as he catches his breath.

"Nice shooting. Wish you were with me in the Corps." Says Bud.

"I wish the Corp were here right now. No way we can thin them down enough and they are almost here."

"This fire door will keep them out for awhile." Says Bud. "But I reckon they will just come around through the main doors and the windows."

"Good thing we can outrun them." Says Azadeh, as he sets home a clip. "I just wish I had more ammunition."
 
OCC- Rita has Hammond's ,357 Magnum and her own .38
Michael has his Glock
Lynne got Hammond's and Earl's shotguns from the office, but I'm not sure if she's handed them out yet. She also has Earl's .38
Luke has his rifle, his shotgun, and his revolver
Gary has Sean's rifle
Randall has Wallace's rifle
McCormick is unarmed (though he's the best in the garage with a rifle)
Jenny is unarmed
I thought Ellen had Azadeh's pistol, but I guess Azadeh still has it (Ellen only has the base 20% pistol skill anyway)
Bo has his Mossberg Mariner shotgun and Beretta
Mrs. Foo is currently unarmed
Mr. Foo has his MP-5, as well as his sword
Stephanie has Mr. Foo's P10 pistol (concealed under her lab coat)

Mr. Foo succeeded at his Idea roll (49% roll vs. 90% stat): http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=672435

IC-
In the Comm Room-
"If you don't have enough aluminum foil or a diving suit that leaves that idea out," Stephanie told Goldberg. "Going into town to get stuff would prove dangerous. Maybe I'll think of something else later. For now, secure your house as best you can. Lock and barricade all your doors and windows. If you can get any guns and ammo, make sure you have them on you to defend yourself. If not, you've got the machete at least. We may end up having to relay through you, but like I said it'll be about twenty minutes - if we survive at our end. We've got bad trouble outside, and I'll have to get to safety soon. If you don't hear from me for a while, that's why. Over."

Stephanie sent a message back to Omaha: "Thanks. We've got heavily armed skinheads causing trouble outside and a big crowd of infected people on its way. I'll have to get upstairs in a minute or two, so this may be the last time you hear from me before then. Over."

Stephanie knew she wouldn't have much more time to investigate the effects of EMPs before she had to get out, so she tried using the equipment to listen in on India. She knew it had been nuked earlier, probably by Pakistan and/or China since strategic targets had been hit rather than populated areas. If anyone was still transmitting there, maybe they had observed something. English was widely spoken in India, which gave her a chance to understand what was being said. She also tried the Hong Kong area, since it had been a British colony too until less than ten years ago. She regretted not having learned any other languages during her education, but she'd been so focused on science that she had neglected them. She also checked on the status of the base at Diego Garcia, which was in the region and might have observed the effects of the EMPs.

On the motel's balcony-
"I wish we could evacuate," said Mr. Foo to Ellen, "but first of all those skinheads are in our way. My wife is at the garage over there, and even if she didn't have our car I couldn't leave without her. I'm sure you feel the same way about Charlie. You could leave if you had a car, but I'm not sure where you would go or what you would do without more supplies and weapons, but I have to stay here in order keep communicating with Warren AFB and to protect Miss Bridges until she can get transportation to Omaha.

Mr. Foo glanced over at the diner. "It seems people are heading up to the roof there. Maybe we can try the same thing here, as Azadeh suggested. We could give someone a boost up there, and they can tie a rope or a cord for the others to climb up. Failing that, we could make a rope out of bedsheets, like an escaping prisoner. It could be anchored to the satellite dish. Once we're up there, we can pull the rope up after. We have a little time before that mob gets here, since it's going to hit the diner first. When they do get within range, aim for their heads and keep your distance from them. Whatever happens, don't let them bite you.

Mr. Foo shared his observations of Buzz and the other skinheads. "That pack that they threw under the chopper, could it be a bomb of some sort? A satchel charge, maybe? Hmm. Whatever the case, they mean business and they're running out of patience. This could get ugly fast. Work on getting up to the roof with a rope, and keep your distance from me just in case shooting starts." Since they didn't appear to see him, Mr. Foo took careful aim at the skinhead with the M-16, watching their movements carefully. He held his fire for now, but he knew that this situation could turn violent without warning. He had to be ready to bring down the only skinhead with a weapon capable of reaching him from their current location. That underbarrel grenade launcher made him even more dangerous. If any other skinheads could be hit with the burst along with him, so much the better.

In the garage-
Rita had gone off with Bob into the diner before Mrs. Foo had a chance to speak further with her. "Garage not safe place to stay," she said. "So much fuel here. One grenade and it all over. Some people heading up to diner's roof, but grenades could get up there too. Maybe we can make it to motel, if they agree to let us past. If not, maybe we could make run for it anyway. I not very good driver, though." She looked at the slowly recovering trooper. "You drive good, right?" Bo smiled and gave Mrs. Foo a slight nod. He just needed a little bit longer to get his strength back before he could speak and move again, although he'd have to be careful and take it slow. Once he got behind the wheel, though, he could move very fast indeed.

"Even so, that risky," said Mrs. Foo. "What else can we do?"

"Bomb shelter..." managed Bo, "basement...guns..."
 
In the Diner -

"She might be able to help. Explain it to her." Bob says to Rita as he crosses Rosie "I'm going to find that other skinhead."

"And remember the less lies, the less they can catch you on." he adds looking back over his shoulders "Just leave out some incriminating stuff."


In the Basement of the T-bone -

"I suggest the armed people move up. Look for the guns a little further on and perhaps find out what was dragged here, but be careful." Dave says "In the meanwhile, we -the unarmed ones- will see if these boxes are camouflaged guns or not."

Dave frantically starts rummaging through the boxes that could potentially contain guns.


On the roof -

"Alright, whatever. But the roof is not the best place to be if grenades start flying." Luke sighs "Either way, try to get water and maybe some food up here. A person can last almost a month without food, but this is not the case for water."

Luke is slowly getting more and more irritated by the yelling from the skinhead at the other side of the building, and and appearantly he is not the man you want to piss off: all 5 shots hit, giving Azadeh and Bud some more breathing room. One shot simply turns a zombies head into a cloud of blood, three other shots simply split the zombies' heads like melons and a last shot seriously wounds a zombie.
 
In the basement/ shelter-

There are many boxes to rummage through. Jeans, sweaters, canned goods, hospital supplies liquor.... This could take hours.

Dave also notes that the others in the room are Robert, Duke and Lynne, and each is armed.

Robert looks past the cheap curtain behind which the shelter continues down. "How big is this thing?" He asks Duke.

Duke looks down the stairwell. "Hell, this thing could go on forever."

Lynne standing behind them nods. "You bet. This is real old, something the government made back in the day. I don't think Earl or Hammond ever explored it all. There's even a laboratory down there, and some rooms, a bunks. I think there's even jail cells too. Also there is the elevator.. but I never did trust that."

In the Diner-

Rita quickly gives an uncomplimentary analysis of the situation to Rosie.
"I reckon we better talk to them." Says Rosie.

Rita nods.

Outside Buzz calls out. "You folks inside are trying my patience."

"Oh shush, Buzz. I hear ya. If we didn't respond its because things are crazy in here. Don't be threatening no one damn it. It ain't neighborly."

"We want Horst, Rita, and we aim to get him." Calls back Buzz. "If you're holding him up than we're going to have some trouble."

"Jesus Buzz, trouble? What the hell kind of day do you think its been? We've had trouble all day. We've got people shot in here already." Replies Rita.

"Where the hell are Earl and Hammond and why am I'm talking to you?" Asks Buzz.

"You're talking to me because Earl and Hammond are both dead. Others been killed too. We got people wounded. Been enough gunfire for a day, don't ya think?"

"What about Horst?"

"You want to see him you can come inside. But only you Buzz. God knows there has been enough shooting. Look, you can leave your buddies outside."

"Why don't you just send Horst out?"

Rita pauses at this moment and whispers, "ah shit" under her breath. "What do I say?"

Rosie looks sympathetic. "Tell him he's been hurt."

"Shit. They ain't going to like it."

"Otherwise what?" Asks Rosie.

Rita finds the breath and calls out to Buzz, "We can't do that Buzz. It's Horst. He's not well."

"What do you mean he's not well?" Says Buzz, clearly impatient.

The other PMS members seems to be a bit startled by this change of events and uncertain how to proceed.

"He got hurt. There was some violence and Horst got hurt. We think he got the infection>"

"What infection?" Says Buzz.

"That thing that's causing all these problems. What? You missin' the news or something?"

Buzz seems to consider this. The guy with the M-16/203 speaks to him quietly and for a moment they both look out past the T-Bone. But from their angle they can only barely see the ghoulish horde staggering towards the T-Bone.

Then Buzz calls back. "No, I didn't miss it. We got hit a little while ago and lost some good people. How bad is it?"

"It ain't good Buzz. We got him inside with Flip."

"Why ain't I talking to Flip then?" Asks Buzz.

"We figured it would be better if Flip watched over Horst, you know, because of the infection." Explains Rita.

"YOu saying Horst is becoming one of them?" Says Buzz.

"Buzz, do I look like some kind of fucking scientist to you? Do you think I would be in this shithole if I was a doctor?"

"I want to speak to Flip." Says Buzz.

"You want to come in?" Asks Rita.

"NO I want to speak to him personally. You get me Flip."

"Hang on a minute." Says Rita.

"Now what?" Asks Rosie.

Jim Kerr has slipped out of the troopers car and duckwalked into the T-Bone. Beth has her .38 out and is watching developments from inside the diner. She glances at the direction of the approaching horde of ghouls.

"We're running out of time." She says to the others.


On the rooftop-
OCC- How many has Luke shot at standard range? ten? that means you got ten left and then the zombies will be at the T-Bone. Luke's shooting is basically helping to keep time.

Wille and Tisha are now on the roof. Alice follows. Samantha is behind her after checking to see if the back door near the office is secure. She glances in the office and notes the windows. Probably too late to try boarding up the restaurant. The others have got to come up....

In the Comm Room.

Goldberg calls back. "The village is a ways away, and I don't have the kind of stuff you're talking about. My place is wood, pretty simple island style. I got a chickenwire fence around to keep my chickens in. Lots of windows for fresh air, and I can't do shit with one arm. No guns but I got a machete, but if they come at me in numbers...."

Text message from Langley. Perimeter Breached. We are being overrun. Can no long support communications system. Comm system connected but unsure how long. Bad Day at the Office. Good luck.

Then Langely goes off line. It is unclear how much longer the communications/eaves dropping system will last. While you could listen in on China, Korea, Vietnam and parts of Russia, Stephanie doesn't understand what they are saying. While she could listen in on India, currently there are no broadcasts through the system as far as she can tell but then the system was not made for listening in on India. Most radio, television oand other media are off line.

She can communicate with other listening posts like Mr. Foos, but most of those are now off line. To listen to reports of EMPs she will need someone who can speak the language.

Hong Kong is off line.

Diego Garcia is up and operational, but on high alert.


On the motel's balcony-

Ellen looks over at the T-Bone. "I think that's Charlie on the roof. He's got his guns with him no doubt. Probably even enjoying this a little, if that's possible. But damn them things look pretty close. Looks like over a hundred at least. I wish I had a gun, not that I know much how to use one. Mr. Foo, we only got two guns here, and there's not enough of us. Them things, we can barricade the stairs but that's not to say they won't work through the barricades too. If we construct them, they can pull them down, know what I mean?"

In the garage-

Dave peaks his head out the door. "Them skinhead fuckers best not mess with my truck."

Randall gets up to give Bo a hand. Bo feels his legs are weak, but he can stand with Randall's help. Sally continues to try to get through to Haussman but withotu luck.

Gary with the rifle stands his ground. "If you give up the garage, them fuckers are going to come in here and be all inside this place. I don't think givin up the garage is a good idea. And we can't lock down the garage doors with that truck iin the bay."
 
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