The Zombie Apoc-Fur-Lypse, Group 4, Scene 3b

Story by comidacomida on SoFurry

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The Zombie Apoc-Fur-Lypse

Group 4, Scene 3b

copyright 2010 comidacomida

"Come on, Dezzi... that's it, mate." Andy helped the wolf stand. Dezzi was still obviously

suffering from shock, but he still moved under direction, even if it was more like a puppet than

a man.

"Taking him with us is going to be a death sentence for him if we run into zombies." Steve

noted, holding his shoulder, red spots already visible on the bandage.

"It'd be more of a death sentence to just leave him here." Andy offered.

"Come on," Thomas called from down the hall, "I think the control room is just up ahead." he

waited as Andy made his way down the hall, leading Dezzi with a paw around the mind-numb wolf's

wrist.

"Coming..." Steve acknowledged, pausing near the fallen power station worker Thomas had killed

to defend him. He tentatively reached for the pipe which remained in the pit bull's sternum

but, hesitating at the last minute, Steve straightened up with a shudder, "You keep it." he said

to the corpse, and jogged after the rest of the party.

Andy set Dezzi in a metal chair with wheels and situated him against a wall. Thomas was already

looking over a control panel by the time Steve arrived.

"So... anyone have any idea how to use this thing?" the fox inquired, absently rubbing the

bandage around one of his wrists.

"Look around." Steve suggests, moving over to stand next to Thomas, "There's probably some kind

of instruction manual or something... check the desks and cabinets and I'll see if I can figure

it out."

Tommy nodded, "Alright... just don't do anything stupid... we're already looking after Dezzi...

we don't need you to get all crispy-critter on us." The fox left Steve to the control panel and

began searching an office desk nearby.

Andy continued to monitor Dezzi, checking his pupils with a small pocket torch, "No physical

problem that I can tell." the wolf stated, "I think he probably just... shut down." he glanced

back to Tommy and Steve, "He should come around once the stress level lowers... I hope."

"I don't think the stress level is going to 'lower' anytime soon, Andy... in case you forgot we

kinda have zombies after us." the fox smirked, "Hey... bingo." Thomas held up a large,

soft-cover book, "Looks like we got our directions here. Yea..." he flipped through the manual,

"all one thousand fifty eight pages worth."

"We might not need it." Steve offered, "I think I found the main power switch." he reached

forward on the control panel and gave the large lever a tug. He pulled it into position and let

go. A loud 'click' sounded, and the lever flipped back to its original position, "Damn." the

wolf stated, "What the hell now?"

"It's a failsafe, I think." Andy spoke up, "Most electrical systems have it in the event of a

power surge. We might need to shut off all of the peripheral lines first, THEN flip the main

switch. Once the power is going to the city we can bring it up region by region."

"So you're a paramedic AND an electrician?" Steve questioned.

"It all falls into the same category; we're working on putting things back together and getting

them working again." Andy offered a smirk, then glanced to Thomas, "Any luck?"

The fox flipped through several pages, "Well, there's a table of contents, thank god... and it

looks like there are some directions for start-up. Yea... right here." the fox mumbled as he

read, "Before flipping the main power lever, find the three groups of three switches; the

sequence will be identified by colour: blue first; red second; yellow third." and he chuckled to

himself, "I never get tired of seeing 'colour' spelled with a u."

"It's the RIGHT spelling." Steve pointed out.

"Yea... if you're in Engla--" Tommy paused, and his right ear lowered and tipped sideways, and

he started laughing, "Oh yea... we ARE!"

"Hmm..." Andy noted, "I think I might have overdone the dosage."

"Nah." Tommy waved the concern away his laughter abating, "I'm fine." he cleared his throat,

"Anyway... find the three groups of switches."

Andy moved over to the control panel and glanced around, eyes stopping when he caught sight of

nine switches close together, three rows of three, all identical except for their colours, "Found

em." the wolf acknowledged, "Okay... you said blue, red, yellow?"

"Yep!" the fox acknowledged, "When we have all nine switches on then we can throw the main

switch and we should be good to go. After that we flip the switches again."

"Any specific order?" Steve asked.

Thomas shrugged in response, "Not that it says in the manual, no."

Andy nodded, "Alright... I'll take your word for it." he glanced to the German shepherd, "You

ready with the lever, Steve?"

"Yea... sure. But if this thing electrocutes me because we did it wrong I'm gonna come back as

a zombie and kill you, Tommy."

"That's fair enough." the fox acknowledged, moving over to join Andy, "You okay with those?"

Andy nodded, "Just fine... keep an eye on Dezzi while we get this working.

"Then let's do it." Steve nodded, and put his paws on the lever.

* * * * * *

"They're in the cab! They're in the cab!" Jeff shouted, trying to squeeze further under Sam.

"I know! Just... gimme a minute to think!" Sam pleaded, realizing that he didn't have a minute,

and, even if he did, he was too scared to come up with a good plan. He flailed an arm

helplessly, searching for something... ANYTHING under the driver's seat. His paw closed around

the end of a heavy duty metal torch.

Jeff screamed as a zombie managed to squeeze its way past the others trying simultaneously to

enter through the broken windscreen. Sam pulled the mag-light out as the zombie gained its

bearings, and brought the metal tube down hard across the side of its face. Although he was not

in a good position to really attack it, the blow actually seemed to stun it for a second. Since

it was his only chance, Sam decided to take it, and he kicked the door release with a foot.

"GO!" he shouted to Jeff, and helped shove the young husky out the door.

Jeff grabbed hold of Sam's leg and helped pull him out along the bottom of the cab and both

started running... but they were hardly fast enough. The raccoon screamed as a zombie fox

grabbed him by the tail.

"SAM!" Jeff cried, and slowed to a stop.

"RUN!" Sam shouted, "JUST RUN!" but there wasn't anywhere Jeff COULD run... and, though most of

the zombies were still stuck in the lorrie half-way between inside and out, two others were

still able to chase Jeff down. The young husky turned back toward them just in time to see them

leap, salivating jaws gaping wide. Nothing that happened next made much sense however as the

city street suddenly burst with brightness; the street lights had come on.

Every zombie in the street suddenly collapsed. Jeff shouted, quickly backpedaling from the two

that had almost had him, but ended up limply falling to the pavement. Sam managed to pull his

tail free from the limp grasp of the zombie fox and ran to Jeff. The both quickly backpedaled

away from their three assailants, who were already starting to rise again.

"What just 'appened?" Jeff questioned, tears streaming down his face.

"The power's back on..." Sam stated the obvious, and quickly added, "but... I don't know why the

zombies stopped."

"Now what?" Jeff inquired, looking around, "There's nowhere t'go."

Sam stepped in front of Jeff, brandishing the torch in his paw, "Just... stay back." he said,

voice wavering with uncertainty, "When I tell you to run... you run. Don't stop, and don't look

back. Got it?" the raccoon asked, keeping his eyes trained on the zombies, which slowly began

to circle him.

Something about the way they moved began to make him feel uncomfortable. The zombies in front

of the two survivors spread out, with one on either side slowly circling as if to flank the

raccoon. The chaotic maelstrom of corpses flailing in attempt to get through the lorrie's

windscreen had calmed, and they were extracting themselves in an almost orderly fashion.

"I don't like this one bit." Jeff whimpered.

"Me neither, Jeff... me neither." Sam acknowledged.

At that, the zombie directly in front of Sam leapt at him, "GO!" Sam shouted, quickly jumping to

the left. He forced the end of his torch into the leftmost zombie's muzzle and pushed it back

as Jeff ran past. The young husky kicked out with all his might, foot connecting with the

reverse of the zombie's knee, sending it sprawling. Sam took the opportunity to run, but both

were set upon by the remaining two zombies, a fox on Sam and a rabbit on Jeff... the undead were

far too fast.

"NO!" Sam shouted, and he reached behind himself to push at the zombie fox.

"'ELP!" Jeff shouted, the rabbit forcing him to the ground.

"NO!" Sam shouted again as he was also wrestled onto the pavement. He felt saliva dribbling

down onto the back of his neck, and heard the guttural wheeze from the zombie fox as it eagerly

lowered its head to feed.

*BAM!* a gun retorted and the rabbit on Jeff jerked upright.

*BAM!* a second shot echoed in th street and the zombie fell sideways to the ground.

*BAM!* the third sounding of the gun happened right after the fox looked up, and Sam felt gore

and bone rain down on him. By that time the zombie Sam had pushed back was already upon him

again, but a fourth *BAM!* put an end to that; the corgi was drilled through the forehead.

"JAMES!" Jeff shouted, having got to his feet before Sam could. The raccoon followed suit a

second later, and turned to watch Jeff run over to his brother. Sam gasped when he saw the

older husky.

"'oly shit." Jeff came to an immediate stop once he noticed the injuries as well.

James was standing unevenly, most of his weight on his right leg. His left leg was twisted at

an odd direction and he was standing on the heel of his foot. His clothing was torn to pieces,

and a protective combat vest was visible beneath his shirt, though it appeared to have been

ripped and torn regardless. Sam swallowed as his throat constricted; James had a huge chunk of

flesh missing from the side of his neck, and one of his eyes was hanging by a line of muscle.

"O'm'god... you're bleeding, James... you're bleeding!" Jeff whimpered, falling to his knees.

"Sorry..." James rasped, "didn't... go like I wanted... it to."

Jeff started crying, reaching out to encircle his older brother's good leg.

"What... happened?" Sam asked hesitantly, "And... the others?"

James raised the gun and fired another half-dozen rounds. The raccoon spun around, watching as

the six zombies by the lorrie all collapsed, drilled through the head. "My aim's better." Jeff

said, giving a faint, emotionless smile which came across far more disconcerting than

encouraging.

"What 'appened, James? Come on... we need ta get you to a 'ospital." Jeff whimpered, getting to

his knees. He slowly stood, "James?" he rested a paw on his brother's chest, "James?" Jeff's

eyes slowly went wide when the older brother growled, the sound coming from deep in his chest.

"It's too late for a hospital, Jeff." the sergeant explained, "Just... get back... please." he

blinked his good eye, the other's eyelid completely absent.

"No... you... you can get better, James... we can find 'elp!" Jeff reasoned.

"There isn't any help for me." James cocked his gun and raised it to his own head.

"James! NO!!!" Jeff shouted.

"I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise, Jeff." the older husky lamented, and he pulled the

trigger.

*click*

There was a momentary pause as everyone took in the situation; James was the first to recover

from the shock. *click click click* he pulled the trigger again several times... and he made a

burbling, raspy sound. James shuddered, falling to his knees, the sound almost seemed like

laughing... or crying. His gun landed next to him, and he pulled out a spare clip at his belt.

"No... James... stop!" Jeff knelt down beside the sobbing wolf, taking one of James' paws into

his own. The clip fell to the ground beside the gun, "Don't do this! We'll find 'elp...

there's gotta be someone who can 'elp."

"Jeff..." James murmured, "I'm already dead."

"No! It's not too late, James! It's not too--"

"I don't have a pulse... I'm not breathing... it's too late." the older husky's voice came out

gargled, almost as if he were under water.

"I'm not gonna give up, James... you're still you... that means SOMETHING!" the young dog

screamed.

"I want to kill you, Jeff." James interrupted.

"What?" the admission caught the younger husky off guard.

"I want to kill you." James answered, the words coming out with an almost feral snarl, "You...

you're loud... everything about you. Your heart.. your breath... even your thoughts... they...

they just...." he mumbled incoherently, "I... I want to kill you."

"No you don't! I'm your brother! I love you, James! Please! Fight it, James... fight it!"

"Shut up..." James snarled, slowly rising to his feet again, "Just... stop making all that

noise!" he howled, and reached forward with both paws. Jeff let out a cry of surprise and

emotional pain, unable to do anything as his brother descended upon him, maw wide, teeth leading

the way... but all 200+ pounds of Sam slammed into the zombie and knocked him away from the

young husky.

"It's not James anymore, Jeff! Run! GO!" Sam shouted, quickly scrambling back as the zombie

that had been James flailed on the ground, unable to use its snapped leg to get up.

Jeff paused, standing where he had been, eyes wide, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Run,

Jeff!" Sam shouted, stumbling as the zombie husky reached out to trip him, "GO!"

* * * * * *

"GO!" Steve shouted from the back of the group. Andy and Thomas stumbled along with Dezzi

between them; the wolf was still not responsive. Behind them, Steve shut every door he could

and knocked as much in the path of the pursing zombies as possible. None of them had expected

for all hell to break loose the moment the power came back on. It all started with an alarm,

and, scarcely four minutes later, they found themselves running for their lives.

"Up this way!" Andy exclaimed, turning to a door marked stairwell. It only took a moment to

open, but the stairs were particularly hard for them to negotiate due to the limited room for

them to move line-abreast as they carried Dezzi.

"This'd be easier if he'd walk for himself." Thomas grunted, negotiating a turn in the stairway.

"Shut up and go." Steve grunted, trying to force the stairwell door closed as several arms

forced their way into the space between the door and the door frame.

"Hold him." Thomas stated, pushing Dezzi to Andy. He slid down the handrail and placed a paw

against the door beside Steve. With timed precision, the fox reached his arm through the

opening in the door, gripped, and pulled. A bloody pipe came back in his paw, "I guess that pit

bull wasn't ready to give up." With two quick slams of the pipe, Thomas helped Steve get the

door closed, and he jammed the metal into the edge of the door frame, effectively barring it.

"We're almost out." Andy said, breathing heavily. The four survivors had two more sets of steps

to climb, but finally emerged on the ground floor.

"FINALLY a good twist of fate." Steve let out a breath, "Ground floor... and there's the front

door." he motioned across an empty entryway, "Come on!"

Steve moved quickly to the exit, while Andy and Thomas helped Dezzi. The German shepherd paused

at the front door, "Looks like we made it." He pushed the door open... and an alarm went off.

"Fate fucked us again..." the dog groaned, "and it was during her period."

"Run now, crass humor later." Thomas directed, pointing, "Get to the lorrie."

The four survivors ran out of the building. As the lorrie came into view, there was a sudden

change in Dezzi, who started making nonsensical sounds, hooting and hollering as he broke free

of Thomas and Andy, quickly outdistancing everyone as he sprinted full-out toward the lorrie.

He hit the fence, and barely even slowed, going right up and over it like a bat out of hell. He

leapt off on the opposite side just as the others arrived at the gate. They paused as they saw

the scene beyond with James staring down Sam... but James' attention quickly shifted as Dezzi

ran past.

It was a by-the-book bobby-style take down. James wasted little motion, each move executed to

perfection. Dezzi was spun around and swung to the ground, back facing the zombie

police dog. In any other circumstance, the next step would have involved handcuffs or zip ties

but not just then; James leapt upon the prone wolf... and tore his throat out.

"Sam! Sam!" Andy shouted, "Get to the lorrie! We gotta go!" he and Thomas had to help Steve

climb the gate.

Sam paused, eyes going to the garbage lorrie, and then to James, who stopped, and turned back

towards him. For a moment, indecision was obvious on the raccoon's face, but when James' eyes

turned instead to the young husky still on the ground crying, Sam knew what he had to do.

"HEY JAMES! YOU IN THERE SOMEWHERE, MATE?" Sam shouted, throwing his torch at the zombie husky.

James batted it away without a second thought and he stalked toward Jeff. "Come on, James!"

Sam pressed, "I thought you don't like people being LOUD!" he shouted the last word at the top

of his lungs. James still stalked Jeff.

"Fuck." the raccoon murmured... and let out a wordless scream, charging the zombie. "JEFF!" he

shouted as he drew nearer, "GET UP! RUN!"

Almost as if it were instant replay, James spun, shooting an arm out and grabbing hold of Sam.

The raccoon was spun around and forced to the ground. The zombie policeman bore down on him,

bloody muzzle leading the way... but he never made it.

*BAM!* a single gunshot dropped James. Steve, Andy, and Thomas, who had just leapt over the

fense stood still as they stared at Jeff. The young husky held his older brother's gun, freshly

reloaded in his shaking paws; a whisp of smoke still rose off of the end of its barrel.

"Get Jeff." Andy said quietly to Thomas, "We have to get the lorrie moving and get the hell out

of here."

"Where are we going?" Steve asked, hobbling toward their transportation.

"Anywhere that isn't here."

<END SCENE>

It's that time again, Apoc-Fur-Lypse fans! Group 4 has made it past the Harrowing Event, but there's still a little more left to play out with this scene! We're about to see just how well the characters did with your help!

Here is a behind-the-scenes look at the breakdown of the action for this scene.

Does Dezzi snap out of being in shock?

**Endurance (10) to regain his senses.

Dezzi 6 + trait of 1 = 9 _ FAILURE**

Dezzi is still suffering from shock._

The group need to uncover the right set of switches to activate the power relay.

**Awareness (12) find the main control panel.

Steve 8 + trait of 6 = 14 SUCCESS

Andy 1 + trait of 3 = 4 FAILURE

Thomas 7 + trait of 9 = 16 _ SUCCESS**

Steve locates a set of secondary switches while Thomas finds the main controls._

Does anyone know how to start up the power relay?

**Awareness, Luck, or Ingenuity (14) to get the relay working

Steve 0 + Luck of 7 = 7 SUCCESS

Andy 6 + Ingenuity of 8 = 14 SUCCESS

Thomas 7 + Awareness of 9 = 16 _ SUCCESS**

Andy figures out how to get the levers working while Thomas uncovers the operation manual._

Sam has to protect himself and Jeff from the zombies.

**Ingenuity (12) to find a safe way out of the lorrie's cab.

Sam 7 + trait of 6 = 13 _ SUCCESS**

Sam grabs the last heavy torch and beats a zombie with it and escapes with Jeff._

Can Sam get a good distance from the zombies?

**Agility (12) to get away from the zombies.

Sam 5 + trait of 5 = 10 _ FAILURE**

Three zombies get Sam and Jeff._

Can Sam get lucky enough to escape the zombies?

**Luck (12) to evade the zombies, (15) required to save Jeff too.

Sam 9 + trait of 6 = 15 _ SUCCESS-JEFF SURVIVES**

Sam somehow manages to get free of the zombies with Jeff because..._

James opens fire on the zombies.

**Agility (11) to hit a zombie with a firearm. Requires +1 to kill.

James 4 + trait of 7 = 11 SUCCESS-HIT

James 6 + trait of 7 = 14 SUCCESS-KILL

James 7 + trait of 7 = 14 SUCCESS-KILL

James 9 + trait of 7 = 16 _ SUCCESS-KILL**

James kills the three zombies attacking Sam and Jeff._

James needs to protect Jeff from himself.

**Tenacity (14) to avoid committing suicide.

James 3 + trait of 0 = 3 _ FAILURE**

James puts the gun to his head and pulls the trigger-- Out of ammo._

Can Sam react before James tears Jeff apart?

** Agility (12) to intervene.

Sam 8 + trait of 5 = 13 _ SUCCESS**

The raccoon pushes James back and gets Jeff away from him._

Can the party get out of the power station while zombies are running around inside?

**Luck roll. Team must average 11.

Dezzi 4 + trait of 7 = 11

Steve 7 + trait of 7 = 14

Andy 5 + trait of 6 = 11

Thomas 8 + trait of 0 = 8**

Average of 11 SUCCESS

The party encounters the zombie James.

[b]**Tenacity (8) to try and re-kill James.

Sam 4 + trait of 3 = 7 FAILURE

Steve 2 + trait of 2 = 4 FAILURE

Andy 7 + trait of 0 = 7 FAILURE

Thomas 3 + trait of 2 = 5 _ FAILURE**

None of the party can manage to attack James._

James attacks Dezzi.

No roll is made.

Dezzi dies as he is out of Plot Points.

James lurches for Jeff and the party has another chance to kill James.

**Tenacity (7) to try and re-kill James (again).

Sam 8 + trait of 3 = 11 SUCCESS

Steve 3 + trait of 2 = 5 FAILURE

Andy 6 + trait of 0 = 6 FAILURE

Thomas 4 + trait of 2 = 6 _ FAILURE**

Sam will attacks James._

Sam attacks James.

Agility (15) to hit James with a melee weapon. Requires +1 to kill.

Sam cannot hit James so he elects to try and draw his attention instead.

Sam tries to draw James' attention away from Jeff.

**Influence (10) to make James attack him instead.

Sam 9 + trait of 2 = 11 _ SUCCESS**

James attacks Sam instead of Jeff._

Can Sam possibly hope to avoid being mauled by James?

**Luck (13) or Sam is done for.

Sam 7 + trait of 6 = 13 _ SUCCESS**

Sam is not dead._

Determine the group's next unofficial leader.

**Influence roll, highest wins. Andy gets +3 for being leader in the past two scenes.

Sam 8 + trait of 2 = 10

Steve 7 + trait of 2 = 9

Andy 5 + trait of 4 = 9 +3

Thomas 1 + trait of 2 = 3**

Andy is the temporary leader of Group 4 again.

Each character involved in this chapter now loses 1 Plot Point for successfully surviving without a Harrowing Event taking place (the Harrowing Event was 3a, and this is 3b).

Non-contributing readers, you may vote for your MVP to regain their lost plot point. Anyone who does not have a character involved in this story arc may vote. You may vote by personality, contribution, style, personal preference, or any method you like to make sure your preferred survivor continues to fight another day. The winner of 3a was Andy; it looks like his medical knowledge is helping him to save himself in our readers' eyes!

Contributing readers please choose the next direction for the group. The ad hoc leader gets 2 votes while everyone else gets 1.

Option 1: Get diesel first before doing anything else.

Option 2: Continue to the University!

Option 3: Bugger out! This city is lost!

Each character involved in this chapter now loses 1 Plot Point for successfully surviving without a Harrowing Event taking place (the Harrowing Event was 3a, and this is 3b).

Non-contributing readers, you may vote for your MVP to regain their lost plot point. Anyone who does not have a character involved in this story arc may vote. You may vote by personality, contribution, style, personal preference, or any method you like to make sure your preferred survivor continues to fight another day. The winner of 3a was Andy; it looks like his medical knowledge is helping him to save himself in our readers' eyes!

Contributing readers please choose the next direction for the group. The ad hoc leader gets 2 votes while everyone else gets 1.

Option 1: Get diesel first before doing anything else.

Option 2: Continue to the University!

Option 3: Bugger out! This city is lost!

Plot Point Opportuntity:

Steve, Andy or Thomas may spend a plot point to have a more centralized roll in next chapter; if neither of them do then Sam will be elected as the centralized character and he will spend a Plot Point. While it is not specifically a benefit as such, sometimes being seen as the 'main character' can often garner a character public support by readers; just think of all the possible votes!

Alternately, any contributing reader can spend a plot point and have Jeff introduced as a full fledged party-member. His 'I STAY ALIVE' traits are as follows:

Influence 3

Survival 6

Tenacity 4

Agility 6

Youth 6

Awareness 5

Luck 5

Ingenuity 4

Vitality 6

Endurance 4

He will start with the average of everyone's Plot Points.

Congratulations to the remaining members of Group 4 for surviving the first Harrowing Event in the Apoc-Fur-Lypse series. Tread softly because you never know when the next Harrowing Event will be upon you!