Session IV: Billy Jackson
The session begins with the group having finally escaped the pastor's second story house. Rita Hancock has just been hit hard by a shot fired from the church they're running towards and Initiative is rolled.
[This session took place the night before our regular gaming session, taking the opportunity to resolve securing the madman in the church's rifle and ammo before picking up again the next day. The group ended up getting split up and scattering zombies all over the place, so it dragged out a bit longer than we expected it to.]
Slaughter, Louisiana
Sunday 3:30am, April 27th, 2008.
1)
While the ditch in front of her only provides light cover Charley doesn't want be slowed down jumping over it nor turn back to the pastor's house full of zombies for cover either. She jumps into the ditch to draw her sidearm and take aim at the church window, but with the shadowy figure only partially visible and under near total cover she doesn't waste a shot.
Alice makes the jump over the ditch easily and runs for the corner of the church. She's still in view of the window though.
Dillon and Rita both jump into the ditch and go prone for total cover.
Jenny is paralyzed, unable to react to the sudden violence just yet.
Charity follows suit but is moving sluggishly and seems confused again.
Moses hits the ditch and shoulders his rifle but doesn't take a shot this turn either.
The young girl and boy likewise hit the ditch, going prone. Both are banged up a bit from the jump out the window but manage it.
Alice's dash for the corner of the church has left her open and the shooter in the church has tracked her the whole way. Though he fires off three shots at her while she runs Alice's Athletic Talent pays off and she dodges all three shots easily.
2)
Not wanting a protracted gunfight with so few rounds of ammo left (and not wanting the nut in the church to waste all the ammo they plan on taking from him) the players decide they have to drop this guy quickly.
Charley figures shooting at the man while he has total cover is pointless. She's up out of the ditch and running for the opposite corner from Alice, relying on Moses for covering fire.
Dillon stays face down in the mud.
Jenny snaps out of it to jump in and do likewise.
Rita wants to hold on to the one bullet she has for an emergency and stays in the mud as well.
Charity suddenly staggers up out of the ditch and begins yelling in a very confused and scratchy voice for everyone to stop shooting.
Moses tries to fire off a shot at the window before grabbing for Charity but realizes then that he never reloaded after the gunplay in the kitchen. He decides to quickly load a single round, fire and then try at least to grab Charity's feet and yank her prone before she gets shot. After loading quickly he fires at the window but hasn't any hope of hitting. Dropping his rifle he makes a quick grab at Charity and lands it easily, but he's forced to grapple her this turn to pull her down next turn.
Alice runs on ahead, reaching the cover of the north side of the church without having to sprint and finding the rear door open. Through the door she can see several zombies in the hallway within and they seem to have been attracted by all the gunfire. They're just beginning to move back out of the hallway and into the rear church yard where she stands. They all begin moaning when they spot her and she darts to the side to sprint away next turn.
Billy Jackson has two rounds left in his rifle so he fires a shot at Charley as she runs to his flank, which she dodges successfully, and fires his last round at Charity. He hits and Charity's forced to make an Endurance check (after being chewed on by zombie Jimmy a few hours ago).
The young girl and boy wisely stay down.
The zombies in the church begin shambling out the back door in the direction that Alice just went.
3)
Charley continues running and reaches the front doors of the church. Trying the doors she finds them locked and so she fires a round into the lock hoping to disable it.
Alice steps to the west corner to peek around and doesn't see any zombies in sight (though there are a lot of dead bodies near the window to the south). She hoofs it down the length of the church's west yard to link up with Charley next turn. As this brings her alongside the west window she can see Billy Jackson in the church standing at the opposite window reloading his hunting rifle.
Dillon, Jenny and Rita stay prone.
Charity is shot and grappled at the ankles now and fails her second Endurance check. She crumples to the ground, all the abuse she's suffered being just too much for the poor girl.
Moses wastes no time yanking Charity back into the ditch where Rita can tend to her again and recovers his rifle. He doesn't waste a shot at Billy and decides a dash for the church is not a great idea. He stays put.
The two young kids stay down.
Billy's reloaded now and isn't aware that Alice is right outside the window behind him. He fires three shots at the old man that just shot at him. Under the ditch's light cover Moses is able to dodge the first two and his innate dodge handles the last one.
Everyone in the ditch then realizes that zombies have begun moaning and beating at the south window of the pastor's house behind them. The ones at the north window are already beginning to crawl through to come after them.
The lead zombies at the church reach the corner, spy Alice to the south again and begin moaning as they continue to shuffle after her.
4)
After having shot the lock out Charley gives the doors a good yank and springs one open. She can see Billy across the church with his rifle in hand so she takes medium cover in the doorway to fire off a quick shot at him. She drops two Plot Point tokens on the shot and hits but doesn't do much damage.
Alice runs the rest of the way down the side of the church to come up behind Charley and warn her that zombies are incoming from that direction.
Dillon and Jenny stay down while Rita moves over to tend to Charity. She then finds that Charity has finally taken enough damage to risk dying but has made her first Endurance check to avoid that. Rita realizes that first aid will keep her alive for a while but with actual medical help likely not available any time soon she decides to go ahead and try to stabilize her completely. She digs out the first aid and goes to work, dropping 3 Plot Point tokens in the effort to ensure success and overcome the penalty for distractions. She fails but drops 2 more Plot Point tokens to bump that up to a success.
Moses hears Charley's pistol fire and knows she's engaged the lunatic in the church. Counting on him being distracted he climbs up out of the ditch to run for the church and back her up.
The two kids jump up to follow Moses out of the ditch toward the church. He doesn't notice.
Billy turns to fire at Charley in the front door of the church, emptying the last two rounds in his rifle. With her cover she dodges one and her innate defense covers the other.
The zombies in the pastor's house continue beating on the windows to the south and one has already taken to its feet again after stumbling out of the north window.
The zombies at the church continue their patient hunt across the western yard of the church after Alice.
5)
As she has the Initiative over Billy, Charley spends this turn aiming for his arm. She doesn't necessarily want to kill him in the first place and mainly just wants to stop him wasting ammo.
Billy's taken only one grazing shot from Charley so it doesn't slow him down a bit. He reloads his hunting rifle, screaming something incomprehensible at her as he does so.
Alice is a little discouraged that Charley isn't doing anything about the horde of zombies coming for her. She runs off of the ditch again but stops at the corner of the church when she sees Moses (and the two kids) running her way. Besides that she can see zombies coming out of the broken window of the pastor's house.
Dillon and Jenny decide the ditch isn't safe anymore with zombies at hand and climb out to follow the old man with the rifle.
Knowing that if Charity's wound points are high enough to have risked death she isn't about to be roused Rita simply grabs her and starts dragging her out of the ditch towards the church, yelling for Moses to cover her. She isn't about to waste all those Plot Points by leaving her for the zombies.
Moses screeches to a halt and turns to cover Rita. He opens fire on the zombie about to start shuffling her way, dropping it with his last two shots. Now out of ammo he's left with abandoning Rita and Charity or closing in to cover them with an empty rifle. He yells for Jenny and the kids to get to the church and taps Dillon to help him defend Rita.
The two children follow Moses' direction and sprint for the church, huddling at Alice's legs once they arrive.
A second zombie takes to its feet after having climbed through the pastor's window while a third begins climbing through behind it.
The zombies at the south window continue moaning and beating against it, not yet breaking through.
At the church the zombies still coming for Alice continue shambling forward, nearing the corner of the building.
6)
Charley takes the shot she's been aiming for. Billy attempts to dodge but she scores the hit. He's shot, his right arm is rendered useless and the rifle clatters to the floor. Charley steps into the door to order him to surrender, declaring a Threatening action on him with her sidearm in the process.
Billy, still raving, bends over to retrieve the rifle with his left hand and Charlene opens fire again, missing. She opts not to waste another shot and to just drop him on the next turn instead.
The two young children stay at Alice's flanks.
Alice moves to the door of the church, staying close to Charley.
Dillon turns and darts over to Rita. He takes Charity off her hands and simply hoists her up on one shoulder to hike for the church next turn.
Jenny dithers but finally heads on for the church, arriving behind Alice.
Rita pulls out her revolver with the one last shot remaining to cover Dillon and keeps pace with him.
Moses falls in line, the empty rifle now hoisted as a club, but it already looks as if Dillon will able to move each turn and stay ahead of the zombies coming from the pastor's window.
The zombie at the pastor's window moves forward, reaching the ditch and stumbling into it in an effort to get at Rita. The one behind takes to its feet from its fall out the window and another begins climbing through behind it.
The zombies at the south window manage at last to break through and the window shatters. One begins climbing through immediately.
The zombies on the west side of the church, still looking for Alice and following the sounds of Charley and Billy's gunfight, reach the corner and spot the group of tasty looking humans near at hand.
7)
Charley unloads on Billy, missing with her first two shots when he dodges. Her last shot hits, though he's still not down.
Jenny stays with Alice and the children.
Alice would very much like to sprint away from the zombies coming around the corner but she has two young children at her knee. She instructs them to stay with her and orders Jenny to help her protect them, then leads them away from the zombies (and hopefully from Charley, whose back is to them inside). Alice and Jenny both reduce their Initiative point to the children's.
Dillon humps for the church with Charity over one shoulder. Rita likewise stays on Dillon's flank on one side with Moses on the other.
The zombie in the ditch climbs out while the one following him falls in. The third finishes its climb through the window and is ready to move next turn.
The first zombie through the south window flops to the ground outside while another begins climbing through behind it.
At the church the small horde of zombies there keep after Alice, Jenny and the children. Four of them turn to pursue the ravings of the madman in the church however and find Charley near at hand. Two come within range of grappling her and she's forced to dodge both attempts.
8)
Charley responds to the zombies at her back by diving headlong over the barricade of pews pushed up against the front doors. Taking to her feet on the other side she attempts to fire at Billy again and discovers her sidearm is empty. She attempts to reload quickly but fails after all that action.
Billy attempts to fire at Charley one-handed with his off hand. He misses terribly, then surprises her by dropping the rifle and charging for her unarmed, still raving like a madman.
Seeing zombies coming from the front of the church after Rita, Jenny and the kids, Dillon changes direction for the back of the church instead. Rita and Moses follow him, not having any ammo (other than Rita's one bullet) to spend helping anyone else out.
Jenny then bravely darts forward to get the attention of the zombies following her and the children before moving away, leading them off in a different direction and staying close enough to keep them interested.
Alice and the children then alter course to follow Moses, Rita and Dillon at a jog.
As the zombies from the pastor's house continue to close in, hampered by windows and the ditch, the zombies now following Jenny stay on target and she's able to stay clear while keeping them busy with her.
The four zombies after Charley all begin climbing over the pews to get at her inside the church.
9)
Charley spends an action reloading then fires on Billy point blank, hitting with her first shot but missing the second. Billy dodges but is hit hard.
Billy attempts to choke Charley (grappling) but she avoids it easily after his dodges and the damage penalty he's laboring under.
Dillon, Rita and Moses reach the northeast corner of the church.
A very bloody and very wild looking ten point buck suddenly bounds out of the woods to the south, slamming into Jenny from behind, goring her viciously.
Jenny tries to scramble away from the crazy deer attacking her to flee but she's already taken more wounds than she can afford from the surprise attack. She fails her Endurance check and passes out.
Alice and the children keep running, not far behind the others at the corner.
Three of the zombies from the pastor's house are now clear of the ditch and closing in. Two others are negotiating the ditch itself and there are still at least three more at the southern window.
The larger group chasing Jenny move in to feed now that she's down.
The four zombies at the front door of the church all flop down over the pews and begin to take to their feet inside.
10)
Charley changes tactics and moves past Billy to put him between herself and the zombies at hand, moving as far as the altar before turning to wait for him to come at her again.
Billy turns and charges after Charley, reaching her and throwing a couple of wild punches her way. She dodges both.
Moses then calls out to Dillon and Rita, telling them to just continue on up the street and not enter the church (realizing that's where they're heading and not wanting to get trapped again). Dillon ignores him though and continues on into the church's backdoor. Moses and Rita decide to follow after all, for Charity's sake.
The bloody deer that just tramped Jenny confirms everyone's suspicions that he's about to cause significant trouble by abandoning her to the zombies closing in. It darts swiftly after Alice and the children, nearly pulling alongside and clearly a threat already.
The half dozen zombies to the south all close on Jenny to feed while the scattered group from the pastor's house all close in from the east side of the side. Several have already cleared the first ditches and one manages to intercept Alice's group, taking a swipe and missing a grapple at the young boy.
The four zombies that have cleared the barricade at the door of the church all close in behind Billy and as she's placed him as the closes target, they have him grappled quickly.
11)
Charley breaks off from Billy, snatches up the rifle he dropped earlier and shoulders it.
Billy spends the turn struggling with the zombies grappling him and screaming lunacy. He's gone completely around the bend and his mania nearly gets him free but in the end it looks like the zombies have him.
Dillon enters the church and heads down the hall, finding the office and entering there. Rita and Moses follow, closing the door, and get ready to begin shoving the desk up against it to block the doorway next turn (the door opens outward, unfortunately).
The bloody deer closes in and gores at the young boy, hitting and wounding him. He manages to keep going despite the hit but the deer is practically running along amongst Alice and the kids now.
Things are looking grim for Alice who's hampered by the two slow children (both still smarting from clumsy jumps out of the window earlier and the boy now badly wounded.) With the deer hard on their tail she follows after Moses and Rita anyway, her Coward complication already demanding she abandon the kids to run.
The southern batch of zombies are all still occupied with Jenny, who's now clearly out of the game. Those from the pastor's house have all now reached or cleared the second ditch lining the street and three have managed to close in on Alice's group. The closest makes a grapple on Alice which it botches, leading it to overextend its reach and fall face first into the dirt.
The four zombies grappling Billy maintain their hold and start biting. Billy starts screaming for real now and it's pretty much all over the guy.
12)
Charley suddenly realizes the day pack next to the window has Billy's ammo in it and she doesn't have to engage the zombies eating him to loot him for bullets. She snatches the pack and vaults through the east window...right into a yard full of scattered zombies and (to her great surprise) the same deer she and Moses apparently shot a few hours ago.
Billy passes out from all the chewing and he's out of the game.
Dillon drops Charity to the floor as quickly as he can without risking further injury, then pitches in with Moses and Rita to shove the desk up against the doorway.
The bloody deer leaps and gores at the boy again, hitting hard. He makes his Endurance check to avoid dying right off but fails to remain conscious. He's down and dying in the yard.
The young girl skids to a halt with her brother down, crying out to him and leaving Alice with a huge dilemma. She decides at last to ignore her Coward complication (and I don't challenge it) to stick with the kids. She stops and grapples the young girl, landing the grapple easily and allowing her to run with her firmly in hand next turn.
The zombie that just face planted last turn gets to his feet, still focused on Alice but unable to begin moving her way just yet. The other two close in on the young boy, as he's closest, while two from the ditch head toward Charley.
13)
Figuring Alice can stay ahead of the zombies while dragging the girl, Charley stays put and starts firing at the bloody deer with Billy's rifle. She lands all three shots on the crazy deer and it takes all three to drop it, despite doing high damage with each hit.
Dillon and Moses check out the room and note the small window high on the west wall that might serve as an exit should the zombies following them actually open the door and spot them. Rita rushes to check on Charity and finds she's still in good shape despite being hauled around like a sack of potatoes for the last minute.
Alice flees with the girl, whose still crying and struggling to get back to her brother. She enters through the rear of the church and starts checking doors for a place to hide.
Three medium sized groups of zombies are now busy eating, taking the threat load off the rest a bit. One group of six is to the south with Jenny's remains and the others inside the church finally officially kill Billy Jackson. A group of four are converging on the young boy, who hasn't actually been gnawed on just yet and two of them are already on top of him.
The two closing on Charley shamble up and she has a hard time with them after taking three shots at the deer. She barely avoids one grapple and the other zombie botches to face plant beside her.
14)
Charley charges for the young boy nearby, slinging the rifle across her back with her other one resulting in a cumbersome arrangement. When she reaches him she snatches at the young boy, pulling him away from the two zombies crawling over him. A Burst of Strength check successfully snatches him away but she still has to get away with him.
Dillon and Moses busy themselves with smashing out the window and dragging the office chair underneath it to make an emergency escape route. Rita hears Alice and the crying young girl outside in the hallway and calls to her.
Alice drags the young girl along and makes for the office, reaching the door and yanking it open to begin shoving the girl over the desk into the room.
Luckily for Charley the four zombies are all focused on eating the boy and all attempt grapples against her on him. Three have him in hand despite her best efforts. The two zombies she just fled are at her back however and they move in to grapple her, both landing grapples.
The remaining four unengaged zombies in the yard have all cleared the ditch and move in the direction of Charley and the young boy.
15)
Charley breaks free from one of the zombies but fails to get free of the other. She's unable to act again this turn and it looks bad for her.
Dillon and Moses handle the young girl while Alice scrambles over the desk. Rita climbs up to close the door again. Alice turns her attention to the young girl, hoping to calm her (or at least quiet her) before the zombies pursuing them enter the church.
The zombie Charley just shook off lands another grapple on her and the second one rips at her badly, imposing a wound penalty. She's unable to muster another yank to pull the boy free and the four zombies on him all grapple and begin feeding before she can stop them.
16)
Charley faces the inevitable and focuses on getting free of the two zombies on her. She breaks free and drops back to fire on those two, still hoping to get the boy free. She has only one round in the rifle and that empties it, though she lands the shot.
Inside the church office Alice fails to calm the young girl and she's screaming hysterically now. Dillon and Moses have done what they can so they cast around for something to use as a weapon, finding nothing. Moses hands his rifle over to Dillon, figuring he'd be better using it as a club. Rita is assured that Charity is still stable so she pitches in trying to calm the young girl.
The four zombies on the young boy begin feeding and he's out of the game. The two she fled join in as he's the closest edible thing to them now. The four remaining zombies still closing in alter course for Charley now however and come nearly within reach.
17)
Charley gives up and sprints for the rear of the church, reaching the hallway to search for the others. She hears the young girl in the office and moves to the office door to enter next turn.
With the zombies outside and inside the church busy eating for the moment the combat comes to a close and Charley rejoins the group with minimal fuss. [We end the session for the night to pick up tomorrow.]
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