Session III: Sunday Services
The session begins with all four members of the team how hold up in the side bedroom on the second floor of the pastor's house, having just abandoned the hallway outside to the zombies. Just after they close the door they hear the two young children they only recently rescued scream in fright outside and realize they've forgotten them and left them out there.
Since Alice, Rita and Moses have all suffered hard hits to their Mental Health (with Rita very nearly catatonic and Alice not far behind) they decide finding some place more secure to catch a breather and hopefully let them recover a bit is in order. The church across the road is looking good, especially the opportunity to either enlist the rifle-toting man over there or disarm him and claim another rifle (and more ammo). Either way from the children's earlier description the church sounds like a good place to crash or at least to stage a breakout. Although that same description indicates the man in question might be a handful.
Slaughter, Louisiana
Sunday 3:00am, April 27th, 2008.
It's decided that the first order of business is rescuing the two kids, if at all possible. However, making their first action to check their weapons and be sure they're reloaded they realized they're nearly out of ammo. Rita only has one round left in her revolver while Charley and Moses have only eight rounds each once they divide their ammo (though Charley still has a full reload for her issued sidearm).
Checking outside the windows quickly they see a tree very near the house on the east side, most likely how the old lady zombie got in just a moment ago. Charley springs open the window, slings her rifle and climbs out the window in an attempt to reach the overhanging roof, since the nearest tree limb seems a bit too far away. Despite dropping 2 Plot Point tokens on the attempt, she slips and has to drop another token to keep from falling to the ground below. Once she's hanging from the roof though, climbing up is an average difficulty task and she manages it well enough. Up on the roof she hurries across the west side, intending to try the same thing in reverse and get through the window there, where the children most likely fled from the zombies.
Back inside the bedroom the group is startled with Charity sits up sluggishly and moans. When she turns her sights on Moses nearby and starts to take to her feet, Moses intends to shoot her and the GM then calls for Initiative. Moses takes Initiative and spends the turn aiming for a head shot next turn. Charity's Initiative comes next and she squeals a bit when she sees Moses aiming for her head. Moses then drops his aim and tries to speak to Charity. When she curses at him a bit for pointing a gun at her it's clear she's not a zombie after all. Hit with an Average Willpower check Moses passes it, not suffering much trauma despite having nearly shot some poor cheerleader in the head. Charity is still looking very pale and shaky though and that has everyone on edge.
Up on the roof Charley reaches the other side of the house, keeping an eye out for the agile old lady zombie. Once there she climbs over the edge to dangle again and spends her last three Plot Point tokens to leap awkwardly for the window sill. She barely manages the Formidable task, gets a firm grip on the window sill and follows through by pulling herself up just enough to peer through the window. She's a little discouraged to find no children in sight in the room and the door firmly closed, though she does clearly recall leaving all the upstairs doors open. Charley then takes a few turns to shimmy the window open from her awkward position in order to climb through.
While Charley is busy with her gymnastics outside, Moses decides to lead the kids in prayer (having discovered his Faith asset grants him the ability to provide some quick Mental Health recovery in other believers). Rick is quick to mock the old timer but Moses finds everyone else eager, considering the situation they're all in. He spends the next few turns praying fervently over the sounds of the undead still beating at the door to the room. He manages to grant everyone but Rick (who isn't participating) a Second Wind roll on the their Mental Health, including himself, eliminating all their stress levels completely when everyone rolls high.
By the time they're done however the sound of wood cracking can be heard at the door and they can all see the door sill giving way from the battering the door has been taking. Alice is quick to reassert her authority again, ordering the boys to dismantle the barricade and start bracing the door with it instead.
Once Charley has managed to squeeze through the window and catch her breath a bit, she checks under the bed first and finds her suspicions confirmed. Both the children have ducked under there to hide. It takes a bit of coaxing but she manages to get the both out from under it so she can start shoving it up against the door that the zombies are already starting to slam against. She spends the next few turns wedging the chair and table in there as well.
After taking a moment to remember whether or not they left the upstairs bathroom door open she recalls that they didn't. She starts using her rifle butt to break through the drywall into that room, intending to climb through and do the same to break through the other side as well.
Rita uses her Intuition asset to determine that the old lady zombie is still on the ground floor somewhere, outside the house. It occurs to her and Moses that abandoning the ground floor may not have been such a good idea and that getting back downstairs somehow might be for the best. At the very least they can run away if they can get outside. After considering the matter for a while Moses (having a decent Craft skill) determines he can break through the floor with some effort. Getting through the hole may be difficult but if he can punch through enough to look around and locate the kitchen counter beneath them he can make a hole directly over it. This should make the jump down to the first floor relatively safe.
He begins immediately, ripping up a section of the carpet with his hunting knife to expose the floor roughly over where he figures the counters below should be. Alice, Rita and Jenny all pitch in while the boys build the barricade at the door. Charity is considered too sick to help much but they change their minds and let her pitch in when it occurs to them that keeping her physically active might be a good idea.
By the time Moses and the girls nearly have a hole broken through the floor Charley has broken through the drywall and wallpaper into the bathroom. Once she's widened it enough to get herself and the two children through easily the zombies are already pounding at the bathroom door, attracted by all the noise. She leaves the children in the bedroom near the breach to begin breaking through the opposite wall, taking her time to be as quiet as possible this time.
She now recalls that the doorway into the bedroom she's breaking into is open to the hall and it seems any noise she makes might well attract zombies into that room before she can get in. She's only at it for a few moments when her fears are confirmed and two zombies appear at the small hole she's made, trying to reach in and grab her. When she falls back through to the bedroom again she can see the two zombies are already tearing at the drywall, enlarging the hole she made. Two more join them there to moan and reach over their comrades, vainly reaching and grabbing in her direction.
Once Moses has broken through the floor enough to get a look below he can see he's judged the location of the kitchen counters accurately after all and need only break a few more boards loose to make an escape hole directly above them. He sets about doing so with the girls' help and soon has a large enough break in the floor for everyone to squeeze through.
When he calls Dillon over to give him his rifle and send him down first, Rick pipes up and demands to go first instead. When Moses points out that Rick has run away once before already and that Charley was very clear on the subject of Rick not being given a firearm, Rick becomes belligerent and threatens Moses for the weapon. That's enough to set Moses off and he fails a Willpower check against Rick due to his Anger Issues complication. He lights into Rick, threatening to shoot him if he doesn't back off. Rita tries to defuse the situation by joining in and pointing her revolver at Rick as well while reassuring Moses, hoping that will calm him enough that no one gets shot. Rick backs down but it's clear he's still angry. Moses is able to calm himself and get back to work, though he sends Dillon down without the rifle now.
Realizing that zombies will be coming into the room soon through the hole she's made, Charley finds she hasn't anywhere to retreat but back outside the window again. Breaking through the other wall of the bedroom will only open a hole to another room with an open door to the zombie-filled hallway. Judging from the steady pace at which the zombies are dismantling the northern bathroom wall it won't be long.
Charley decides it's time to get back to the ground floor as well and snatches the blanket off the nearby bed, tossing it out the west window (intending to use it to rig something to catch the kids). It then occurs to her that the mattress would be better so she uses the rifle butt to smash out the window completely, frame and all. With the zombies only moments from breaking through she folds the mattress as best she can and begins doing her best to shove the whole thing through the window and out onto the ground below. Three successive attempts fail and the mattress is firmly stuck halfway through the window frame. By now the zombies in the bedroom across the way are beginning to crawl through the hole they've made and fall into the bathroom.
Once Dillon has jumped down to the kitchen counter below and confirmed there aren't any zombies nearby Moses sends the girls through next, deciding to leave Rick for last. All three make the short jump down without difficulty and Moses hands the rifle down to Dillon before he makes the attempt himself. Rick surprises him by jumping him as soon as he starts climbing into the hole.
Surprise:
Rick attacks Moses, throwing a punch at him. As Moses has his hands full climbing into the hole and is surprised anyway, he's an Easy target. Nevertheless Rick lands the hit but only drops a couple of stun points on Moses with it.
1)
Rick takes the Initiative and gives it everything he's got. He lands two punches and drops a few stun points on Moses.
Moses plays it smart and just jumps blindly down through the hole in the floor, landing a little awkwardly but otherwise uninjured. He slides off the counter and snatches his rifle back from Dillon.
2)
Rick hesitates to jump through the hole as that puts him in range of everyone else interfering with his fight with Moses (and knowing Moses is probably getting his rifle back now). He jumps through anyway but flubs the jump, taking some stun damage from landing badly.
Moses wields his rifle in time for Rick to thump down on the counter in a heap and trains it on the boy, effectively ending the fight if Rick decides he's rather not get shot.
After threatening Rick a bit with the rifle it's clear that Rick has backed down again but he can't hide his attitude. With that Moses and Rita decide getting rid of Rick is the best course for all involved. When a couple of zombies appear behind them at the door to the kitchen they decide it's time to leave the house and Alice springs open the door onto the back step.
There they find the crazy old lady zombie waiting for them with a bloody grin. She screams at them, waggling her tongue some more and evoking another round of Willpower checks at the sight. Moses takes a slight hit to his Mental Health but Rita botches the check completely. With a terrified scream she wheels and flees in the opposite direction...right into the outstretched arms of the two zombies at the door.
1)
Dillon takes initiative but he's stuck behind everyone else and unable to move.
Alice is likewise stuck and can't move easily, though she decides her Coward complication prevents her from doing anything just now anyway.
Charity is too sick, confused and freaked out by the wailing zombie lady at the door to do anything and Jenny likewise freezes up completely, both of them block Dillon and Alice.
Rick is still on the counter and has no intention of putting himself in danger so he jumps down and does his best to press up near to Jenny and Charity, just making the press worse.
Moses shoulders his rifle and opens fire on the crazy lady, figuring opening up their escape route is the best thing for Rita at the moment. He yells at Rick and Dillon to get Rita away from the zombies in the meantime. Firing off three quick headshots he misses the first two and but lands the third, doing massive damage that practically obliterates the crazy old lady zombie's head completely. She drops in a heap outside the door.
The two zombies at the door are focused solely on Rita and both make grapple attempts on her, landing them easily as her hysteria forces her to rely on innate defense.
Rita finally gets her Initiative and she's in possession of her senses enough to know to get free of those two zombies right away. She fails to break lose from one of them but the other botches his opposed check and the arm he's grasping Rita with is ripped off it's body to dangle from her shirt.
2)
Dillon shoves past Rick to grab at Rita and reaches her before either zombie can get a good bite. He grabs her and yanks but fails to pull her away.
Alice likewise shoves Rick out of the way and grabs for Rita. She fails to pull her free as well.
Charity joins in the fun and finds she can't pull Rita free either.
Rick edges for the door, watching the madness going on around Rita and decides not to stick around to see her get eaten. He turns and dashes out the door to disappear into the night.
Moses turns and levels his rifle at the two zombies, firing off two head shots and dropping two Plot Points on each. He lands hits on both of them, dropping them both dead.
Upstairs Charley takes the only option she can see and breaks through the other window with her rifle as quickly as she can. She then turns to face the zombie already stepping through the hole in the wall she made earlier.
1)
Hoping the hole in the wall will bottle-neck the zombies a bit, Charley uses this turn to aim for the head. The zombie steps into the room to moan and focus on the young boy, who's the closest edible thing to him.
2)
Charley opens fire but misses badly. A second shot goes wide as well but she drops a final shot that hits and crumples the zombie in a heap.
The next zombie in line begins stepping through the hole in the wall and Charley can see there are still at least two more behind it.
3)
Charley waits to take aim again, well aware she has only two shots left.
The zombie steps into the room and focuses on Charley this time, as the two children have already moved to huddle at her side. It takes a few of steps in her direction while the one behind it begins squeezing through the hole.
4)
Charley fires again and scores a head shot but is dismayed when she doesn't drop the zombie coming for her. She fires off her last shot and misses so she attempts to load the rifle with her last five rounds as quickly as possible, pulling it off this turn.
The zombie closes in on Charley and grapples her easily before she can shoulder the rifle again.
5)
Charley attempts to break lose from the zombie and requires two attempts before she can do so. Having broken lose she drops her rifle and attempts to turn the tables. She succeeds in grappling the zombie instead.
The zombie attempts to break lose but is hampered by the fact that it's only trying to get in range for a bite on Charley rather than actually getting free. Charley has him firmly locked down, though.
The second zombie then steps into the room while the third begins pushing through the hole.
6)
Charley then shoves the zombie she's grappling into, through and out the window to fall to the ground below before snatching up her rifle again. She doesn't attempt a headshot on the zombie closing on her though as her prior actions render that impossible without Plot Points. She only has two now and isn't willing to spend them just yet.
The second zombie closes in to grapple while the third steps fully into the room. Relying on innate defense Charley is grabbed on the first try and finds she's grappled again.
7)
Charley makes two more attempts before she breaks free and can't follow up with the melee attack she wanted to. Instead she drops back past the children (leaving them open for attack) and fires off a head shot on the zombie, dropping her last two Plot Points on the shot. She misses badly.
The zombie turns its attention to the young boy at hand and grabs for him instead. It fails to land at grab on him, though.
The remaining zombie moves in as well, heading for the young girl. It makes a grapple attempt and manages to snatch her before she can get away.
The young boy grabs his sister, attempting to pull her free. He fails and the young girl likewise can't get loose either.
8)
Charley has four rounds remaining in the rifle and no Plot Points to spend but she's determined to drop the zombie trying to gnaw on the little girl. She unloads and makes the head shot on the first try, dropping the zombie dead to the floor this time. Turning for the remaining zombie she fires off two more shots but misses both of them, leaving her with only one round in her rifle.
The last remaining zombie grabs for the young boy, landing a grapple this time and latching on for a bite next turn.
9)
Charley fires her last round at the zombie's head but misses. Dropping the rifle to the floor she pulls her sidearm and fires off two more shots center mass, hoping for the best. She lands both hits easily since she's not aiming for the head and is surprised to find the two hits drop the zombie instantly despite that fact.
A little stunned that dropping two hits from a sidearm center mass is all it took to drop the last zombie, Charley doesn't waste time getting to work on the mattress again. As no more zombies seem to have discovered the hole through the bathroom and are still beating on the door, she puts her back into it and eventually shoves the mattress through. Once it hits the ground she climbs through as well, dangling from the edge of the window to minimize how far she has to fall and drops to the ground below. She manages to land without twisting an ankle and quickly has the mattress shoved over to catch the children, just in time for the rest of group to come around the corner looking for her.
After a bit of coaxing she convinces the two children up in the window above to jump, though both are hurt by the fall. She waves Rita off when she attempts to assess them and has everyone hoofing it for the church. She and Dillon each snatch up one of the children and everyone dashes off for the church before the zombies wander out of the house and spot them.
As they near the church a shot rings out from one of the shadowy windows facing the road and Rita is hit.
Advancement:
Charlene Walker purchases 2 skill points and increases her Melee Weapons general skill to d4.
Moses Scott Luther purchases 4 skill points. He buys the Discipline general skill at d2 and the Melee Weapons general skill at d2.
Alice Hunter purchases 2 skill points and increases her Discipline general skill to d6.
Rita Hancock purchases 4 skill points. She increases her Discipline general skill to d6 and buys the Melee Weapons general skill at d2.
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