ICC- Zombie Apocalypse- At the Truck Stop

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In the Motel 8-
"You certainly ask a lot of questions," said Mr. Foo. "Are you a policeman, perhaps, or some kind of investigator?"

"You still haven't answered my question," pointed out Bud.

"It's true that our Internet connection is down. The phone lines are almost as bad. We still have a dial tone, but most calls won't get through because of problems at the destination or at points in between along the network. However, there's very little that can stop a shortwave radio."

"You seem awfully prepared for this."

"I've lived most of my life with an understanding of the threat of nuclear war, and it would be foolish of me not to take precautions, especially living around a missile base."

"Why do you live here, then? Wouldn't it make more sense to live somewhere that wouldn't be nuked?"

"When I first moved here, there was no missile base. I'm not about to abandon my home without good reason. I've made preparations, and I pay attention to what's going on in the world, so that I know when nuclear war is imminent. Now, though, there is good reason to leave. If things settle down and there is no war, we can always return later. If not, there will be nothing to which to return. And you still have not answered my question. What is it you do, and why are you trying to find this girl?"
 
In the Motel 8

"Right you are! I do ask a lot of questions. It goes with my job, I'm a private investigator and I came here to find the girl in the photo. Before that I used to be a cop so you guessed right. Why am I looking for her? Because her family misses her and they payed me to do it. Does that answer your questions?"
"Now that I have answered your questions I have a few more for you. For example who are your friends? Since you contacted them with a shortwave radio they could be anywhere. So what I want to know is how far has this wave of riots spread out?"
"You also mentioned some white supremacists have a compound near by. What do you know about that? Should we be worried about them?"
"As for your your plan to get to Canada: don't get me wrong, if things are as bad as you say it is a good idea, but right now we should think of what are we going to do in the next few hours first. And by that I mean figuring out what has happened and what are we up against. We should also organize a bit, in case things turn nasty. It always pays to be prepared, you can't argue with me on that one."
Having said all that Bud sat back in the armchair, giving Mr. Foo the time he needed to answer his questions. Bud was also wondering if he would have better luck with finding out something about the girl in the diner. "I'll have to drop by there when I get the chance." he thought.
 
In the Motel 8-
"My friends," said Mr. Foo, "like me, are people who value their privacy. We also believe in being prepared. I have lived a long life and done a lot of traveling, so I know people all over the world, and the rioting is everywhere. It is less severe in places like Australia, Africa, and South America, but it is still quite bad there.

"Those white supremacists could be a problem. They're not friendly under normal circumstances, and I wouldn't put it past them to take advantage of the chaos. They're heavily armed and have a bad attitude. They may also have gone nuts like people the cities. While it might be nice to get our hands on their heavier firepower, the risk is too great. It would be best to avoid them.

"By all means, we should definitely organize as much as possible and find out more about what's going on. I'll work on that once I brief the other guests, and my wife can help pack supplies for the journey ahead. I think it would be best to take a convoy of every vehicle we have. That way, if one or more break down or we can't get enough gas for all of them, we'll still have the rest. Why don't you head down to the truck stop and coordinate with the people there?"

At the helicopter-
As Bo waited for the State Police helicopter to respond, he turned to Stephanie. "Maybe you shouldn't go with me to check out those folks on the highway," he said. "It could be dangerous, like you said. I need to keep you safe so you can get to Omaha."

As much as Stephanie wanted to stay with Bo, she could see the wisdom in this. "Okay, but be careful. I should go talk to Dr. Hausmann anyway. Sean, you know first aid. Maybe you should go with him. See you later." She headed off to the diner.

"There's a first aid kit in the cruiser's glove box," said Bo. "We can head over there once we're done here."
 
In the 8 Motel

Bud nodded in acknowledgment at Mr. Foo. "Good enough for me" he said. "Now if we are to organize properly I think we should know what each of us is capable of, who has any military background or knows how to decently handle a weapon. As for me, I was in the marines and I think I still remember how to handle small firearms like shotguns or rifles. I might be a little rusty but I'm sure I haven't forgotten all that much."
"Unfortunantely all I have on me right now is a 38 " he said patting his pocket "but it's better than nothing I suppose. I also have some more ammo in my car, I'll pick it up on my way out." Bud turned to leave but he remembered something and turned to Mr. Foo again. "Seeing how you like to be prepared and all that you wouldn't happen to have an extra piece or something like that, would you?"
"Oh, and one more thing, do you know what happened to that young man, Alex I belive was his name?" Bud said.

OOC: Bud is going to wait for Mr. Foo's reply, I added the next bit to get things moving a bit, it seemed that Bud was already gathering cobwebs from staying in the same place for so long.

IC:
Bud sifted through the things in his pockets looking for his car keys. 'That wich you seek is in the last place you look for it' he thought smiling to himself. He found the keys and got into his car, opened the glove box and took out a box of .38 bullets and put it in his pocket. He then drove over to the diner.

OOC: So now he's going to the diner, what is the situation there? Will things have settled down by the time he gets there?
 
OCC- Ok, I am tired of waiting for Stompie to post something. Flip rolls for Sanity, fails, loses 6 points. The helicopter crew’s assignment was to safeguard Dr. Haussman and get her to Omaha safe and sound. Also if there are narrative lapses, let me know. Thanks

IC- In the Junkyard.

Mitchell and Wallace are still looking for that part. So far no luck.

Buddy the dog is digging at the ground under an old Chevy truck. Jim the runaway notes this and is curious to what the dog finds so interesting. Although he’s feeling hungry, that can wait a bit.

At the Diner-
OCC- Suaside your description might have been a bit more vivid, but…

IC- Robert and Duke move quickly on Baldwin who looks ready to use his wrench on Flip. Flip looks at the large black man with obvious terror. His switchblade is in the pocket of his jacket but he doesn’t even think to grab it.

Robert and Duke both jump on Baldwin at the same time. But Baldwin is a big man. He catches Robert as Robert jumps and throws the young man across the room. He tumbles over the room and lands on Haussman’s booth, knocking the laptop aside and spilling food across the room. Haussman, still shocked at the sudden violence scrambles away from the table and quickly moves towards Horst.

Duke is more lucky and lands lands squarely on Baldwin’s back. Baldwin spins, trying to shake off Duke. Duke’s grabs Baldwin around the neck but his legs are spun around, knocking around tables and chairs. He calls out, “I got ya. Now put down the fucking wrench!”

Baldwin seems crazed. “Get off me you muthafucka!” He yells.

Ashley is screaming and Lynne has stopped stalking to Randall and is watching the violence unfold. Randall is heading over to try to stop the violence that is literally spinning out of control.

Flip is still frozen and sees Horst’s eyes looking at him even as Horst slides under the table, his head hanging at a strange angle.

Beth is moving over to help Robert, who is struggling to get up off the booth, stunned and a bit bruised but otherwise fine.

Rita is yelling. “Now stop that right now!” But no one is paying attention. Charlie comes running out of the kitchen to try to break up the fight.

Alice tries to move out of the way.

Russell comes up and tries a kick to the back of Baldwin’s legs. Whether that works or Baldwin simply falls down on the slippery food covered floor is unclear, but in either event both Duke and Baldwin go down. Together Duke and Russell try to keep Baldwin to the floor as Robert finally rejoins the melee. Food, broken glasses and plates are all over the floor.

By now Flip is coming out of his daze and reaches for his knife. But Charlie is there and grabs the young punk’s hand as it comes out with the knife. Charlie holds the arm tight and says, “Let it go.” It is clear that Charlie is serious.

Boss Hammond has a big pistol in his hand, and Dave the trucker is also armed and only one step behind Hammond. “Enough of this. Damn it. You.” Hammond points the gun to Flip. “Drop that fucking knife. And you.” He says, pointing the gun to Baldwin, “You move and I’ll shoot ya.”

In the garage-

Boss Earl goes and checks out Alice’s car. The car had an electrical short last night and will require a lot of diagnosis. Dave watches Boss Earl looking at the vehicle. Although a decent and knowledgeable mechanic, Earl is also a cheap bastard and a thief. Dave is quite certain Earl will try to rip off Alice as best he can.

Boss Earl stops what he's doing and looks to the parts of the helicopter still lieing on the floor of the garage. Gary has stepped away from the garage and is watching Bob, unsure whether to follow him or not.

Boss Earl reaches down to the fuel pump and Dave sees that Earl has a tool in his hand.
(Dave- you can either say something or roll idea)

Max the dog gives a tired whine and then settles down to go to sleep.

In the parking lot

Jim Kerr still has State Trooper Erica Spears on the radio. “Mr. Kerr, This is State Trooper Erica Spears. I wish I could assist but have not been authorized. That said, I haven’t received any authorization to do anything for the past hour. No matter. I need to set this bird down. I am tempted to try to land this bird at one of the private airfields, but I don’t know if I can get any fuel, and if I don’t well, I’m ground, so probably will aim for one of the municipal airports. I am between Scott’s Bluff and Alliance and will attempt to refuel. If successful I can try to proceed to your destination. If not, you may have to come to me. Can you provide me any authorization for your passengers, over?”

Bo can hear the radio in the State Trooper cruiser going on. On the radio State Trooper Joe Barring reports. “I’m southeast of Sidney on I-80. Anyone out there? Looks like there’s been some kind of fire in the middle of the city. Fires look out of control. Lots of people walking about. Up ahead, looks like I 80 is jammed up. Probably a car wreck. I’m going to check it out. Anyone out there? Over.”

Sean looks to Bo. “Should I respond to this?”

Luke is still heading out to the parking lot when he passes another glance down the highway. It seems the people have changed direction and are now moving towards the van which is on the eastbound lane towards Sidney.

On a hill to the North.

Alex is working up a sweat as he runs. He gazes over the horizon to the North and can see a few small houses. Further to the Northwest he sees a road split from the main gravel road and then go over a small rise. Further to the north he sees what looks like a trail of thin smoke rising. Alex continues, his run barely begun.

At the Hotel.

Mr. Lathan is still a bit agitated. “Can you explain to me what’s going on…. I mean… what the hell is going on? Should we be looking for the police. Maybe we should go to Sidney? Or what about Kimball… They’re not to far away from here. I think we should go there. Hey I got a family to think about…..”

It doesn’t seem the tranquilizer is helping. Mrs. Lathan seems chemically relaxed. The two children are looking increasingly worried.

Jenny says, “Hey, if it’s alright with you, I’d like to take a look at the meteorite that hit near here. Michael and I were about to head out there to check it out. I think Alex is already heading there now.”

“Well, if you like I could go with you.” Says Felice.

Azadeh says, “If its alright with you, I think I’d like to get my stuff from the car.”

Mrs Foo sees Michael, the British guy, heading out to his car.

Ellen, on the second floor, is talking to Samantha and sees Father McCormick drinking a cup of coffee from the balcony. He’s looking down the road. “Not a lot of traffic today.” He says.

On the road-

Tisha passes a number of people as she drives east towards Sidney. Thomas peaks out the back window of the van and notes that those she passes tend to turn around and start following the van.

“You guys read? I’m pulling over to shoot a piece.” Says Tisha, running a hand through her long hair.

Tisha pulls to the side and gets out of the truck. Willie throw open the side door and hops out, handing Thomas the Audio equipment. Thomas follows Willie and stands behind the older cameraman. Up ahead he sees that there is a big pile up. A few cars have been stopped and further ahead it looks like there is a fire burning from a truck. He can hear the moans of the hurt, but surprisingly he notes that there are no morbid spectators or fire crews.

“Now remember what I told you. Keep the mic set here.. Keep the audio..” Says Willie.

Thomas is busy listening, but he can’t help but notice the sounds of moans coming from the people in the car wreck is getting louder. There’s a lot of blood on the road. He can smell gasoline burning. He also notes that there are people on the other lane going West. They had been walking away from Sidney in the direction of the T-Bone, but now are turning to them. He doesn’t stop to count but figures there must be 20 or more people spread over a mile behind them.

A few of them are running towards the news crew.

Tisha fit a microphone to her blouse. “Are you guys read?”

Willie puts the camera to his shoulder and turns about. “Ok”

Tisha backs up so the camera has a better view of the car wreck ahead. She cannot see what is behind her.

At this point both Willie and Thomas note that there are people in the cars ahead. Both of them also see a person running down the lanes towards them.


OC- Thomas roll spot hidden.
 
OCC - Dave idea roll 46 out of 60 skill

ICC -

The chopper -

When Bob finishes up the preparations he starts walking back to the garage to go talk to Gary.

The parking lot -

Luke notices that the people on the road seems drawn to the van as it drives by. It also seems to him that they're not moving as they should, wounded, in shock or otherwise. His gut is telling him something is severely wrong...

OCC - Welsh, range & LoS to the van's current position?
 
On the Road
OOC:
Thomas rolls spot hidden, 13% roll vs 44% skill http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=507218

IC: Thomas notices something wrong about the people on the highway. Why did they turn around to come after them? They look wounded and are bloodied but they move rather rapidly. Somehow this image seems familiar to him but can't quite tell were he saw this before. Then it hits him: the rioters on TV! For a moment he freezes in panick, realizing he's in danger but then the adrenaline kicks in.
"Heads up people! Something is wrong here! Those people look a lot like those crazed cannibals they showed on the news this morning. I say we make a hasty retreat, now!"
 
At the helicopter-
"Good idea," said Bo, tossing Sean his cruiser keys. "I'll be over when I'm done here." He leaned past Jim Kerr and spoke into the radio. "This is State Trooper Bo Richards. Late last night I was ordered to protect Dr. Hausmann and her group and make sure they get to Omaha. They said this was to take priority over all other concerns. I haven't been able to get through to command for a while now either. From the reports I've seen on TV and the police radio the riots are worse in the cities. My advice is to stay away from municipal airports and try to find an isolated private field, but it's your bird. Wherever you decide to go, check it out from the air before you land to make sure it's not overrun. We're working at getting our chopper fixed too. The problem's with the fuel pump, but our pilot isn't sure if we'll be able to salvage enough fuel to make it all the way to Omaha. If you do find a place with fuel, please let us know where. Good luck, Trooper, and be careful." He watched Stephanie walk towards the diner as he waited for Erica's reply.

At the Motel 8-
"I've done a fair bit of soldiering myself," Mr. Foo told Bud before he left. "Commando stuff, mostly. I'm good with pistols and submachineguns, and I'm also highly skilled in martial arts and with a sword for close-in fighting. I do have two guns, an MP-5 and an HK pistol, but I'm thinking my wife should have the pistol. I'm also good with explosives and electronics, and I can operate many different kinds of vehicles. My wife knows the basics of fixing things and using computers from her work around the motel."

Mr. Foo approached Mr. Lathan and spoke to him softly. "Please try to remain calm, sir. Though I don't have children, I am married too. I know your wife and children are counting on you to lead them at this time. I imagine the police are rather busy at the moment, and we couldn't get through on the phone, but we can see if there are any around. Sidney is on fire, so we should stay far away from there. I do not know what the situation is like in Kimball. We'll probably have to pass through there on our way north, but staying there would not be a good idea. All of Kimball County is located within the potential target zone. Hopefully nobody will launch their missiles at all, but we need to leave just in case it does happen. I think things will be okay at least for the next day or two, but we shouldn't stick around any longer than we need to."

Mr. Foo then spoke to the rest of his guests. "Anyone who wants to get something from their cars, please do so. I would, however, advise against going north to check out the meteor that fell around the skinheads' compound. If you do go that way, though, see if you can find Alex. He apparently went off that way on foot."

Mrs. Foo watched with interest as Michael went to his car. She walked after him, but rather than interrupt him to call him back inside so her husband could explain things to everyone, she let him proceed, following from a distance and watching to see what he was retrieving.
 
In the Motel 8-

(Edit- Welsh- Michael was already speaking to Jenny, Alex and Mr. Foo this morning and has plans to go with Jenny to check out the meteorite site).

Michael goes out of the room and heads towards his car, he opens the car door and grabs a Glock 17 handgun wich he conceals in his jacket. Then he notices Mrs Foo is walking towards him.

"Hi there..! Is there a problem with anything..?"

Mrs Foo looks at him but does not answer.

"I mean because of what I see here, I herd some people arguing, and now everyone has a wired look in their faces… you know like something really bad has happened. Has there been an accident or something?"

"You are right, something bad has happened…" Mrs Foo said.

"But what?" Michael's face was now filled with preoccupation and doubt.

"We don't exactly know ourselves, we are trying to figure it out. We are trying to figure out what to do, how to organize."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the meteors falling last night by any chance, would it?"

Mrs Foo signs him to follow her inside were Mr Foo is. Michael follows her.
 
The garage -

"Euhm, boss, I don't think that's a good idea..." Dave says to Earl.

He has seen the boss like this before & he can pretty much guess what he's thinking.

"That Gary guy easily knows twice as much about mechanics as I do. I doubt he wouldn't recognising sabotage to that part after having cleaned it out." Dave warns Earl "And that pilot guy... God, I wouldn't want to be on his bad side. The chopper is his baby and the guy looks like he could beat Charlie in an armwrestling contest. Nuf said..."

"Haven't they offered you enough money already? We can't get it done in time for the bonus if you sabotage it some more..."


The chopper -

Bob met up with Gary while walking back to the garage. The men are now discussing the further repairs that need to be undertaken to get the chopper airborne again. They're about to enter the garage.
 
ooc Flip's sanity Roll 40% Skill Vs. 20% Die Roll. Flip succeeds in sanity roll

(I'm realy sorry, I couldnt post for the last week, other than responding to welshes Pm's. I do intend to continue RPing, and I will step up the posting.)

(Edit- sorry Stompie, but I rolled for Flip and it was amiss this time around). No matter, your character merely became non-functional for a brief amount of time- which probably saved your character's life- had you gone for your knife, Baldwin would have brained you.)
 
On the road

Thomas , slightly panicking, took a second look at the people that were headed towards them and saw that one of them was missing a hand and had blood all over his face, clothes, everywhere. To top that off the man was running towards them and pretty fast too. He just couldn't understand: how could someone still move like that when he should at least have been in shock from all that bleeding. Another thought crossed Thomas's mind: 'How much of that blood belongs to the creature?' He had seen enough on the news to know that it was best not to try and take a closer look. He rushed over to Tisha, put a hand on her shoulder and spun her around.
"Do you see that thing coming at us? It's going to kill us if we don't clear out right now! So get in the car and let's get out of here!"Thomas said.
 
OCC- Note that the location of the truck stop is roughly between Brownson and Potter (A distance between both towns is about ten miles on I-80). These towns are between Kimball and Sidney along I-80 off the west bound lane. That would mean that the highway lanes going West are on the north side, those going East are on the south side. Roughly 7 miles further down I-80, going East is the town of Sidney.

It should be noted that both Sidney and Kimball have airports and one might fine both aviation fuel and perhaps even a working helicopter.

A quick look to a highway map (I am using Rand McNally) reveals that Route 30, a state highway, runs roughly parallel to I-80. Also running nearly parallel to both I-80 and Route 30 is the Lodgepole River, which is fed to the West by the Oliver Reservor State Recreational Area and could be followed into Wyoming. There is also an unpaved and paved round that runs from Potter and Brownson to the towns of Gurley and Dalton, which are due north of Sidney. For this game the truck stop lies directly between Potter and Brownson, and what Thomas and the TV crew are discovering are folks coming from Brownson or from Sidney.

There is a single dirt road running from the truckstop north, crosses over Route 30 and ta bridge over the Lodgepole river. The road would continue north for an unknown distance. Whether the road actually connects to any dirt or unpaved roads further north (and thus connecting our truckstop with a direct route to either Gurley or Dalton) is thus unclear. Along this little dirt road are a number of houses, some occupied, others not, including the PMS compound.

In the Hotel-

Mr. Lathan is still rather agitated. “I’m sorry but I am not sure I understand what’s going on. Could you explain this to me? Can you explain why you think I should trust you with my family? I mean… how do you know all of this?”

(try to calm Mr. Lathan? Roll Psychology)

Azadeh and Felice have both gone to their cars. Mrs Foo pauses to watch them remove different articles from their bags, but she can’t get a good look at what.

Father McCormick enters the lobby. “Good morning. There are some people walking down the highway and they look hurt. Has something happened locally?”

Jenny Lakin goes to look. “I can barely see anyone… But what about Alex and the meteor. Maybe we should check on that. We told him we’d be going out there.”

To the North of the hotel.

Alex looks both ways down Route 30, but sees no cars moving at all, so he quickly runs across and then, a few minutes later, crosses over a wooden bridge over the Lodgepole River which is swollen with snowmelt, and which cut through the Nebraska plains. He looks up at the rolling hills and the roads that go North and the one that goes Northwest. As he nears the sign he reads “Prairie Militia Society Compound. No Trespassers. Stay Out.” Deciding that it would be better to do as the sign says, he continues his run North, checking his watch. A few more miles and he’ll turn back.

In the helicopter-

Over the radio Bo hears, “This is State Trooper Erica Spears, and roger that. From what I can see the roads are a mess and there are fires in every town. I don’t see much control by local authorities…. I have done a fly over a few cities this morning and it looks like there is little control…. I have been listening to police bans go silent….. It’s been a bad fucking morning. You’ve got traffic accidents on all the major interstate and state highways. I have not been able to raise any air traffic control, except in Omaha where it seems the police, national guard and federal military have been able to secure part of the city.”

“That said trooper, I am riding on fumes now. I can make Scottsbluff or Alliance, but I doubt I could get to either Sidney or Kimball airports. There’s that old abandoned airfield in Brownson next to that college. It’s pretty close to you but I don’t think they have aviation gas. I am reluctant to put down somewhere I can’t refuel because if I have to evacuate I will have to do so on foot and to be honest, I think it would be better to be above this shit than to be down in it…. Over.”


(OCC- if you try to convince the helicopter to land near, try to roll persuasion or fast talk-not that the character with the best chance should try).

Over the car radio- State Trooper Joe Barring is on the radio and reports, “This is State Trooper Joe Barring…. We need medical assistance here pronto. These people are in pretty bad shape. Looks like a bomb hit them… Damn they all looked dazed and bloody. Damn nasty wounds too…. Can’t believe some of them are walking….. There’s a couple running towards me now, and they don’t look so good either…. I need EMT people down here….. Is anyone listening?”

(OCC- to get Joe's assistance- again persuasion or fast talk is best- note time is of the essence).

Gary and Bob discuss how best to repair the helicopter-(Suaside roll for both Gary and Bob’s mechanical repair skills).

In the Junkyard-

Buddy the German Shepherd gives a long whine as it takes a break from pawing at the ground beneath a wrecked Chevy. The dog has found something. Buddy’s tail had been wagging with excitement, but now the tail is tucked underneath the dog’s body.

Wallace notices this. “You’re dog’s acting funny.” Says the Indian.

Mitchell looks at the dog. “Probably found a burrow for a prairie dog or a hare.”


Jim the Runaway is also watching from another vantage points and suspects the dog has found some treasure.

In the garage-

Boss Earl looks at Dave. “Son, you best watch what you say. What you’re suggesting is illegal and I resent that opinion of me. You mind your mannerors or you could go elsewhere for a job and your own business. I do not pay you for your attitude.”

Max sniffs the air and gets up, nose high. Then the big mastiff offers a long nervous whine.

In the parking lot-

Stephanie and Luke enter the diner at about the same time and see the carnage of the room. Baldwin remains pinned down by Duke, Robert and Russell. Beth is taking the wrench from the big man’s hand.

In the Diner-

Rosie looks to Ashley and Lynne. “Girls make yourselves useful.” The older waitress says.

Boss Hammond has a pistol out, “Can anyone explain to me what just happened here?”

“Well…” Says Dave in a long drawl, “I’d say this big black fella just beat life out of Horst.”

Rita comes in and points at Baldwin. “That nigga attacked Horst and I might say it was most unprovoked.”

Robert looks up and says, “Not exactly unprovoked. That guy was taunting people even after being told to shut up.”

“That muthafucka had it comin’” Says Baldwin.

“Shut up.” Says Hammond. “Jesus but this fucks everything up.”

Dave shakes his head. “Told ya it wasn’t wise doin’ business with that asshole.”

Flip wisely drops the knife and looks at Horst.

Kimberly the pharmacist has run over to check out Horst, moving the table aside then checking a pulse. “I think this man needs a doctor. I can barely get a pulse.” Horsts legs are quivering and shaking.

Dr. Haussman arrives soon after. “I’m a doctor and I’ll see to him. Try to stop him from moving.”

As she works she asks, “Is there anyone that might be able to fix a laptop? I need to be able to access this hard-drive and its vital. I’ll pay anyone who can fix it…”

Stephanie’s laptop has also been knocked aside, but has received less damage.

It takes a moment for Haussman to examine Horst. “Try to keep his back straight and allow no sudden movements. I think his got neck or back injuries, probably some damage to his brain. Is there a medical kit here?”

Horst's legs and arms seem to be quivering as if suffering an electrical shock. Flip, looking at Horst's wild eyes, thinks that Horst is having his death rattle.

Stephanie seeing Dr. Haussman’s ruined laptop can’t help but think that if the laptop and its critical hard-drive has been destroyed, than the consequences are most grave.

On the highway…

Tisha looks at Thomas, “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Don’t you understand that we need live action footage…”

She turns around and sees the man running towards her, rapidly closing the distance. Her eyes quickly scan the others. It is only then that she notices that some of the people are in fact consuming others. Those not feeding are moving towards her. Some of those that are walking have been horribly wounded, so horribly wounded that they should not be walking. Tisha has seen enough car accidents and fatalities to know that these people should not be alive.

Yet they are… and they are coming towards her. Some of them seem to be stumbling, but one is crawling on its hands, dragging bloody stumps that used to be leg. Another keeps falling down, getting up, falling down as it tries to come towards her.

“They’re not cannibals…”She stammers…”They’re not even alive.”

Thomas looks up and then he too sees the others moving towards them, the nature of their wounds. He looks into a nearby car that has collided with the sign that says, “Next Exit, Brownson ¼ mile.” He sees one is pulling out something long and red, and then realizes it can only be intestines. Another comes stumbling out of a car. It is a woman, but her belly is open and she innards are spilling out even as she stumbles towards them.

(OCC- Thomas Roll Sanity)

Tisha takes a step backwards, then another step and a third

Thomas can see the one that is running towards them is closing fast… Another is also running through the crowd that is walking towards them, followed by a third, a fourth, a fifth….

Thomas hears the low moan as breath is pumped through dead lungs. He looks around and sees that the others on the highway lane going West are now coming towards them.

There are many, and they are closing off their avenues of escape. He turns towards the van

The van seems far away suddenly. Escape…. There is one staggering near the van already, its arms outstretched towards them..

Tisha falls backwards, tripping on her fourth step, arms flailing the air.

Willie is quickly there, pulling her up. “We need to go… Now..” says the veteran camera man, years of combat journalism having steeled his nerves.

(OCC- If Thomas tries to help Tisha, roll Dex out of 20, also for Willie. I assume your next move is to try to Dodge the one by the van and get there before the runners catch up? )
 
OCC- Mr. Foo succeeded at his Psychology roll (61% roll vs. 82% skill) http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=510201

IC-
At the motel-
"Good morning, Father," said Mr. Foo. "Please have a seat with the others. I will try to explain things."

Mr. Foo continued trying to calm Mr. Lathan down. "Right now I don't know any more about what's going on than you do, sir," he said. "All I know right now is that Sidney is on fire, which you can see if you look outside, most communications are down, and that there are riots in cities and other populated areas all over the world. I do not know what would cause such large numbers of people to panic, but I will endeavor to find out more. I only know what little I do because my friends told me, and they did not say how they knew. I assume they saw something on the TV or the Internet before they lost their connections. I can ask them later, perhaps.

"I do not blame you for not trusting someone you've just met with your family's safety. In your shoes I would feel the same way. But you must learn to trust yourself. Your family needs your leadership now. You must be confident and in control of yourself, so that you can guide them. They are depending on you."

He turned to Jenny Cooper. "It would be good to find Alex and bring him back here. He probably has no idea what has happened, though he may be able to see the fire. However, again I must urge you to avoid the PMS compound, for your own safety. In the 1990's an investigative reporter was poking his nose around there and got shot for his trouble."

"They killed him?" she asked.

"No, he survived his wound. He was very lucky."

"Did anyone go to jail for it?"

"I'm afraid not. Legally, they were within their rights. He was trespassing on their land, and they posted warning signs. Nothing could be done."

Outside, Mrs. Foo watched her guests retrieving things from their cars. Satisfied that none of them were actually going to leave yet, she headed back in. As she walked, she thought it rather odd that Michael had gone out to his car to get his gun if he didn't know what was going on. When she entered the motel, she told her husband in Chinese about the guests' activities.

At the helicopter-
Bo realized that Erica Spears probably knew best about not having enough fuel to make it all the way to I-80. If she could find a way to refuel up at her end, that would be for the best. He mentally went over the airports he knew of in her area where she might find fuel, but unfortunately they were close to cities.

"I hear you, Trooper," he said. "Your may want to try Hellig Field a few miles east of Scottsbluff. It's outside the city, but it's close enough that it could be dangerous, so be sure to do an aerial survey first. If you can refuel there you'll be closer to us. There's also a municipal airport a few miles southeast of Alliance, which is a smaller urban area than Scottsbluff, though still not without its risks. It's your choice.

"If you manage to get enough fuel to make it down our way, stay away from Sidney. The whole place is in flames. As of a few minutes ago Police HQ in Kimball was still transmitting. Of course, you can just land in the T-Bone's parking lot; that's where our chopper is. Let me give you back to Jim Kerr. Over." He handed the radio headset back to Jim and trotted over to his car.

In the diner-
"Oh my God!" shouted Stephanie when she saw the scene in the diner. She leaned out the door for a second. "Bo! Come quick! There's been a fight, and a guy is dying!" Then she rushed to secure the precious laptop computers. Her own didn't look as bad as Dr. Hausmann's, but the doctor's computer was more vital. It probably didn't work any more, but as long as the hard drive was intact the data could be salvaged. If hers still worked, they could just swap in Dr. Hausmann's hard drive. That would have to wait, though. There were more pressing matters. She hurried to the doctor's side. "I'm here, Dr. Hausmann! How can I help?"

In the parking lot-
Bo heard Stephanie's call just as he reached his car. Cursing under his breath, he grabbed the first aid kit from the glove compartment and ran towards the diner. Sean would have to talk to Joe Barring.
 
Just outside the garage -

Gary and Bob have a fruitful discussion about how to proceed with repairing the chopper.

The garage -

Dave just sighs at his boss' comment. The fucking liar.

He just ignores him and starts humming a punkrock song, from time to time singing a slur of words.

"-nd when the rev comes, you'll be the first against the wall."

In the diner -

"Damn, too late." Luke mumbles whispering before he goes back to his table by the window to finish his coffee.

"Lady, just ask your flyboy, I'm sure he's capable of fixing a laptop. Or at least he should know by now who in this dump could fix it for you." Luke replies to Dr. Haussman while he sips from his coffee, barely affected by all the half-panicked people running in circles.
 
In the diner-

Dr. Haussman checks Horsts pulse and vitals. "We're losing him. Too much damage. I am not sure if the damage to his frontal lobe is worse than that done to his neck, but I am not sure we can do anything for this man without a real hospital. There's some seriously bad neural damage and I think internal bleeding."

Dr. Haussman continues to speak even as she does what little she can for Horst. The man's wounds are internal and significant.

"Stephanie, we need to get someone to fix that laptop right away. The files I was working on... the most recent work I've done on the laptop wasnt' saved. It's vital."

Then she turns her attention back to the dieing skinhead, worried that he's about to go into cardiac arrest.

"I need some space here damn it." She says.

At the Helicopter-

Erica Spears is on the radio. "Roger that. There's a big smoke coming off Alliance and I haven't heard jack shit from Scott's Bluff. I tell ya, I am seriously thinking about getting to that old army airfield in Brownson but I'll be on fumes..."

In the Junkyard-

Buddy whines and stops digging, cocks an ear at what's under the Chevy. Takes a big sniff and then starts growling menacingly, as if whatever is under the car is not exactly friendly.


In the garage-

Boss Earl puts down the helicopter part and looks over at Alice's car. "I'd like to see about that vehicle this afternoon. You be getting on to it shortly I assume if they can't raise the money to get that chopper fixed. Fucking government thinks they can coerce our good labor, bullshit. They got to pay like the next one."

He removes a cigar and steps out of the garage to see what the others are up to. As he sees Bob and Gary walking back to the garage. "I suggest you see about getting me a real I.O.U from your federal government if you want to make use of our labor."

Bob and Gary have been comparing notes. Based on what Gary predicts and this suggestion about running a variety of cleansers through the gas system of the helicopter, they could reduce the amount of time for repairs by at least two hours, possibly getting into the air by 1 o'clock. Of course if they had mroe help, they could carve that by perhaps an hour or two, and be in the air as early as 11 o'clock.

Max the dog is sniffing the air and goes out to see what Buddy is getting himself into.

On the road north-

Alex is enjoying his morning run, building up a decent sweat. Up ahead he sees where one of the meteorites probably landed. There seems to a plumb of rust colored smoking rising from a small crater.

Bizarre. Maybe he'll check it out.

At the Hotel-

Jenny says, "Ok, I'm off. Anyone want to come with?" It's an opinion invitation but it seems especially aimed at Michael who had earlier expressed an interest in checking out the fallen meteorites.

The Lathan kids get excited. "Hey Dad, can we go too?"

Mr. Lathan looks at his wife, who seems to be a bit too dazed to have an answer. "I'm not sure. Maybe we should go together."

OCC- note to new players- for those of you picking up players, you take over your characters with your first post. Please be consistent with your character's history, reasons and all prior posts.
 
OOC- Jim Kerr succeeded at his Fast-Talk roll (32% roll vs. 44% skill) http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=511002

IC-
In the diner-
Stephanie moved away from Dr. Hausmann to give her room to work on Horst. "Okay, people!" she said. "Please move away and give the doctor some space here. And if any of you know how to fix a computer, please let me know. It's very important, and we'll pay you well for it." She ushered the crowd back.

Stephanie turned back to the doctor. "There is some good news about the helicopter, Dr. Hausmann. We got an engineer named Gary to help Bob, and I've just about got Earl to agree to help us - for a price." She told Dr. Hausmann about her conversation with Earl and the specifics of the deal. "The only problem is he doesn't think I have enough official pull to get him paid, and I think he'll need to talk to you before he'll seal the deal and start working on the chopper. Maybe when you're done here, you can have a word with him. There's also a Nebraska State Police chopper in the area that's low on fuel. Jim Kerr's talking to the pilot now to see if she can make it here.

"In the meantime I'll work on getting the laptop repaired. If nobody here can help, I'll try over at the motel. As a last resort, Bob or Gary could do it, though I'd rather avoid pulling them off the chopper if I can help it. If we need to, we can cannibalize my computer for parts. I saved my work before I left, and it should be a simple matter to install my hard drive in your laptop so it can access both of them."

Stephanie could tell that Dr. Hausmann's laptop's power was still on, but nothing was visible on the screen. She didn't know how long the battery would last, but she could plug it in to keep it from draining further. It would have to be fixed while the power remained on in order to preserve the unsaved data. While she was good at using and programming computers, fixing them was beyond her expertise. Oddly enough, the whole situation reminded her of that episode of Seinfeld where George was trying to move a Frogger arcade game on battery power so he could maintain his high score. She only hoped she had a better outcome.

Bo rushed into the diner and quickly took in the scene. He ran over and placed the medical kit next to Dr. Hausmann. "Here, doctor," he said. "This might help." Then he stepped over to where Baldwin was being restrained. Everyone tried to tell him at once what had happened, and he gathered that Baldwin had clocked Horst with the big wrench Beth was holding. "I'll take everyone's statement soon, one at a time. In the meantime, nobody should leave. First things first, though." He handcuffed Baldwin's arms behind his back, read him his rights, and patted him down for weapons. "I thought everything was under control before. I never should have left."

"It's not your fault," said Stephanie, putting a hand on his shoulder. "There was no way you could have known this would happen. I need to get Dr. Hausmann's laptop fixed now, and this guy needs to get to a hospital."

"Someone call for an ambulance! I'm not sure one will come with everything going on, but we could always take my car if we have to. With Sidney burning, going east is out of the question. Maybe Potter or Kimball, then." He looked at Horst, who was in extremely dire shape. "Can he even be moved?"

In the helicopter-
"This is Jim Kerr again," said Jim. "You should definitely avoid Alliance, Trooper, and start heading south while you've got fuel. If you can't raise Hellig field on the radio, you may not be able to land there and refuel. I think you should head down our way. You could land at the airfield in Brownson, though it's a bit too close to Sidney for my liking. Then we can bring you enough fuel from our chopper for the short hop to this truck stop, and we can do the same if you have to set down sooner. Better still would be to land in the truck stop's parking lot; that's what we did. I'm sure Trooper Richards has some road flares in his trunk we could use to mark off a landing area." He gave Erica Spears the coordinates of the T-Bone and glanced over at the cruiser, where Sean was talking to Trooper Joe Barring on Bo's radio. "Once you're here, we can transfer our remaining fuel to your bird. It's extremely urgent that Dr. Hausmann reach Omaha as soon as possible, and it's going to take some time to get our chopper fixed. The U.S. government would really appreciate your help. I don't know if we can save enough fuel to get all the way to Omaha, but it's a lot more than you've got now. How many passengers can your helicopter carry, by the way?"

At the motel-
Mr. Foo could see that nothing would dissuade Jenny from investigating the meteors. Though he worried for her safety, at least she might find Alex out on the trail and it would give some anxious people something to do. Also, if the meteor shower was connected in some way to what was going on, finding one might provide some answers. "If you must go," said Mr. Foo, "be very careful. With everything that's happening, the skinheads will be more trigger-happy than usual. Steer well clear of the PMS compound, keep together at all times, and find Alex as soon as you can. He can help protect you. If you run into any trouble, come back to the motel. Try not to stray too far or stay away too long. My wife and I, Ellen, and anyone who wants to help us will pack our things and make preparations."

Now that Mr. Lathan seemed calmer, he could leave the room. "Ellen and the other guests should be down in a few minutes," said Mr. Foo. "While we wait, I'll go gather my own gear and see what else I can learn. I'll be back shortly." He returned to his room, locked the door, and retrieved his weapons.

Mr. Foo already carried his pistol concealed on his person at all times, but the others he hadn't used for anything but practice in a long time. He took his sword down from the wall and slid it into a scabbard on a belt which he strapped around his waist. The antique Chinese blade, an old family heirloom he had taken with him from China, still had a razor-sharp edge thanks to the meticulous care he took to maintain it.

Next, he unlocked and opened a footlocker and withdrew his MP-5 submachinegun, which had served him quite well in the past. He also collected his extra magazines for both guns and their accessories, including a gun cleaning kit. When that was done, he closed the empty footlocker and once again tried to make contact with the outside world.
 
On the Highway - Alex had passed the PMS Sign, continuing his moderatly paced run. He fallowed the Nebraskan roadway. Cold sweat ran down his forehead, and trickled to his chin, Dripping, or finding its way down his neck, being obsorbed by his shirt, that was darkened by the moisture of his sweat. The marine fallowed the roadway, but stopped. The sun reflecting off of a glassy solid object in the distance. The Glassy solid object was at a point lower than Alex. at his elevation, his ability to Identify the object from his distance was hendered. He continued his run, heading twards the object in the distance.

In the Diner - Flip looked down to Horst, Flip's legs felt limp, His hands shaking. He then looked to the floor, at his knife. He realized horst's condition, as criticle, though this had yet to phase him. He found his self more fixated on an amalgum of fear, and anger- Both of which directed to Baldwin.
 
OCC- with Gonzales and Zoe due to come in, I am goin gto wait till Friday to give an update. Personally I am a bit worried about Thomas and Willie. Poor Willie is kind of old to be trying to outrun a zombie.

Note to players- Zombies will generally go after the nearest source of food and will ignore all others until that food is exhausted.
 
OOC:
Hi there.

IC:

In the junkyard:
Jim the runaway watches the dog, carefully. Dogs don´t behave like that for no reason, and he was not going to take it lightly, not after what he saw hours earlier...

Not drawing attention to himself, Jim has his hand on his knife. afety lock. He tries to act casually and to be as discreet as possible (so unless someone was purposefully watching him, would not notice anything unusual)

In the hotel:

Felice starts her car and goes down the road, in the direction the meteorite is supposed to be.
" Niente makes sense, "- she thought - "I might at least see if that meteorite has something to do with..."
She sighs and does not complete the thougth. From all the places in the world, she had to be in that god forsaken town? Not even a town, just some dump near the road, a place that people pass by, not come in purpose...
- I could have hidden in Milan, in Sardinia...No, I had to be in America from all places!
She shook her head. In her line of work, it was usual to go where the job was. It was unstable, it was unpredictable, she worked long hours...But it was worth the while, most of the times.
Felice lighted a cigarrete.
"I hope the damn thing is not very far!"

In the hotel (2)

Samantha went down about the same time as the priest. Took a seat and heard Mr. Foo´s explanation.

- This is awful.But I will help you however I can.

She is impressed by the blade Mr. Foo displays. When he notices her look, she blushes and says:
- I only saw one of those in the movies!

The family is willing to get out? Samantha looks at the children:
- So sorry to but in, but isn´t it too dangerous to go out there? With the kids and all.

While waiting for their reaction, she mentally reviews what could she do to really help. Her weapons were a good strat. Samantha will go back to her room after the answer, whatever it be.

(Ok, Zoe- note that Jim does not have a gun but only a knife. Samantha's weapons are probably locked away in her room or in her car.)
 
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