the Zombie Apoc-Fur-Lypse, Group 4, Scene 6b
The Zombie Apoc-Fur-Lypse
Group 4, Scene 6b
copyright 2010 comidacomida
"Okay... 'ow we gonna do this?" Jeff asked, moving around to one side of Thomas.
Sam, on the other side, bent down and pulled one of the fox's arms around over his shoulders,
"I'll get the right... you get the left. We'll move him out to the lorrie."
"Andy... you might wanna sit with 'im... see if you can do anything for 'is leg." Jeff
suggested.
"We need something better than a first aid kid for any real healing." Andy pointed out, "if it's
a tendon, he'll need surgery."
"one thing at a time, love." Mandy noted, hugging the wolf, "once we're safe we can worry about
long term... right now, let's just take things one step at a time."
"I'm all for that... but can we start the steps a little faster?" Jeff encouraged. The young
husky took hold of Thomas' left arm and supported the fox's weight.
"Steve..." Thomas sobbed glancing back toward the desk behind the group, then yelped as he tried
to put weight on his foot.
"Calm down, Tom... just calm down, mate." Sam noted, "Eyes forward.... gotta watch where you're
going."
"Steve..." the fox noted, louder.
"Right..." Jeff nodded, "we'll give him a proper send off once we're all--"
"STEVE!" Thomas shouted, struggling to turn. The two holding his arms paused, turning as well.
The German shepherd was standing, a vacant gaze in his eyes. Bloody spittle dangled from his
muzzle, and he began stalking toward the group. Beside the dog, the fallen Headmaster began to
stand, hole in his abdomen, and a hunk of his own innards still dangling from his horn.
"Hold him, girl!" Sam shouted, passing Thomas off to Mandy as he readied his shovel.
"Andy... come'ere!" Jeff announced, passing off Thomas' other arm to the paramedic as he pulled
his gun, moving to stand beside Sam.
"That's Steve!" Thomas wailed.
"And the Headmaster..." Becca confirmed, "What's left of 'em anyway. What's your point?" she
took a step away from the advancing zombies.
"Don't hurt him!" the fox pushed Andy and Mandy, and hobbled quickly forward.
"He's a zombie, Thomas... it's not Steve anymore." Jeff leveled his gun at the approaching wolf,
but the fox quickly grabbed his wrist and pushed. The gun sounded and the zombie German
shepherd recoiled, a spray of red rising from its shoulder. Steve's undead corpse fell over,
but slowly got back to its feet.
"Damn it, Tommy!" Jeff pushed at the fox, "He'll kill us!"
While the party was distracted by Thomas' intervention the bull lowered its head... and charged.
Jeff grabbed hold of the fox and pulled him to the side, barely avoiding the horns. The zombie
spun around, letting out a gibbering bugle of a war cry... and lowered its head for another
charge. The blade of Sam's shovel came down like an executioner's axe, hitting the bull clean
on the neck, and dropping it instantly.
"Bloody 'ell, Tommy... tune it in!" Jeff announced, grabbing hold of the front of the fox's
shirt with either paw, "What're you thinkin?"
"It's still Steve! It IS!" Thomas declared, sliding his arms between the paws griping his
shirt. With a twist of one paw, and throwing his weight against the other, the fox deftly
forced the young husky's grip open. Before Jeff could react, Thomas shot his paw forward and
gripped the dog's right ear, twisting and pulling down; Jeff face-planted into the floor and the
fox nimbly walked past, using the wall for support.
"Tommy, you ass 'at! You've lost it!" Jeff exclaimed, slowly sitting up, holding his bloody
nose.
"No... I've found him." the fox replied, slowing to a stop in front of the German shepherd, who
just found its balance, "Steve... it's me." he said, cocking his head to the side, "It's
Tommy... you remember me... I know you do."
"Thomas! He'll kill you!" Sam shouted, racing to the fox's aid.
With barely a second thought, the fox braced himself against the wall, holding his injured foot
off the ground as he kicked out with his good one, sending a fallen chair right into the
charging raccoon's path. Sam tripped up and fell. "Steve... it's me... Tommy. You remember
me... I know you do." the fox casually stopped the skittering shovel with his toe.
The Shepherd paused, nose sniffing tentatively, blank eyes devoid of any sense of recognition.
The zombie growled faintly, raising a paw, claws glinting in the half-light of the hall. Thomas
pushed his weight forward, deftly grabbing Steve's wrist. He continued his forward motion
until his chest was pressed against the dog's and the fox embraced him fully. "I love you
Steve... I won't let anything happen to you."
"What bloody hell...?" Andy stood aghast.
"Go!" noted Sam, standing up. He turned and ran toward the group, not even taking the time to
pick up his fallen shovel.
"Just what exactly...?" Mandy inquired, standing and watching the fox embrace the apparently
surprised undead wolf. She remained transfixed until Andy grabbed her arm.
"I'll make it better..." the fox promised, his paw pressing against the German shepherd's back,
"I did it once... I can d--" and the dog suddenly lurched forward, sinking his teeth into Thomas'
shoulder. The fox's eyes went wide. "S....Steve....?" his arm dropped, no longer able to keep
its grip on the zombie's wrist. Steve snarled, biting deeper. "Oh..." the fox noted, slumping
against the dog, "so... we ARE gonna be together..." and Thomas closed his eyes, "...forever?"
"We have to help him!" Andy announced, slowing.
"He doesn't want our help, mate." Jeff announced, holding his nose.
"We can't help him..." Sam confirmed, glancing back at the two embracing furs. Thomas retained
his hug on the zombie even as it grabbed him, claws raking down his back. The party lost sight
of the two as the turned a corner, and ran.
"Left... then a right!" Mandy announced, keeping pace with Andy as the group ran for the exit.
"There are more zombies around here..." Becca announced, right behind them. A side door began
to open, moaning and growls issuing forth.
"Just get to the exit!" Sam directed, slowing as he reached out to grab a mop. He ran, mop
leading the way, shouldering the door with his body as he slipped the mop into the door handle,
wedging it against a cabinet attached to the wall. The door shuddered several times, but held.
"Stupid... stupid... 'e was just SO STUPID!" Jeff exclaimed to no one in particular.
"Worry about it later, Sam... right now we have to worry about us." Andy suggested, keeping hold
of Mandy's wrist.
Becca ran past the two, hitting the exit doors with a loud thud. They opened immediately,
revealing the golden mid-afternoon light. The party couldn't help but slow, blinded by the sun
as their eyes were forced to adjust from the faint, shadowy illumination within the building.
Nobody stopped completely, however, as they barreled out into the open air.
"Quick! Help me!" Sam directed, grabbing a large rubbish bin. The raccoon began straining,
trying to pull it up the stairs leading to the door. The rest of the survivors moved to help
him and, together, they managed to pull it into place, blocking the exit. Several zombies
impacted against the door from the other side, their faces smearing the small windows with blood
and saliva.
"Move it... go!" directed Andy, motion to the lorrie. Sam went first, unlocking it quickly
before hopping up into the bench seat. He led Mandy toward the rubbish bin, "Sorry... it's not
comfortable, but it's safe. We'll be fine in here."
Mandy gave him a little shove, "Go into the front-- someone's got to help get us out of here
safely." she leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, "Becca and I'll be fine in
the back." Becca, already in the rubbish bin, helped Mandy climb in after her. Andy hit the
close lever and went around to the front.
Jeff had already climbed into the cab beside Sam, so Andy wasted no time in joining them. Once
the doors were closed, Andy turned to Sam, "We're all set. GO!" The raccoon complied readily.
All three survivors in the front let out a deep breath as they pulled away from the building.
Sam brought the lorrie around to the same gate through which they entered, and he pulled back
onto the road, turning right. It was several minutes before anybody spoke.
"She's safe, Andy." Jeff spoke.
"None of us are safe yet." the wolf answered.
"Safer 'ere than she was there." the young husky clarified.
"Yea... for now." Andy answered, letting out a sigh, "But Steve and Thomas gave their life to
save her."
"They knew the risks... we all did." Sam noted, watching the road as he reached down and brushed
a thumb across the photo of his two kits.
"I can't believe Tommy..." Jeff grumbled, "stupid fox..."
"Relax, Jeff... it was his choice, not ours." Andy rested a paw on the dog's shoulder.
"Whether he knew it or not, he gave himself up to let the rest of us get away." Sam explained,
"We should be grateful... not judgemental."
"Exactly." Andy nodded, "What we need to do is think of what comes next."
"Kent." Sam noted without hesitation, "We head south... pick up the Orbital, and keep driving
until we don't see zombies anymore, or until we get to Kent."
"If there ARE zombies, then it's a snatch-an'-grab, right mate?" Jeff asked.
"Cheers." Sam acknowledged.
"And then the Chunnel?" the husky suggested.
"Sounds good to me." the raccoon agreed.
"What about heading to the police station?" Andy offered, "We have no way of knowing how far
this zombie-thing goes. If it's bad enough we might not be able to get diesel later. At least
with the police we know there are people alive... ARMED people, hopefully."
"I AM kinda low on bullets..." Jeff acknowledged, holing up an empty gun, "But if we're going
there then don't you think we should wait for another broadcast? I mean... what if they 'ave
more information.... like, if the situation's changed in the last forty minutes. You think we
should wait and see what the next broadcast says?"
Sam shrugged, "This lorrie's safe as any place, I guess... we could always camp out in the
rubbish bin with the girls until the next broadcast."
Andy paused, considering, "That's less daylight we'll have... I'm not sure it's the best idea to
wait for anything at this point."
"Well... we have three pretty-good sounding options here." Sam spoke up, "Personally, I just
want to get out of here." he glanced at Andy and Jeff, "What about you two?"
* * * * * *
Back at the college the zombies continued to push and shove against the unmoving doors. By
that time, the two, small windows had broken and shattered outward, bleeding arms reached through
the openings, ineffectually grasping at empty air. The doors continued to shudder and heave,
but the rubbish bin held fast. Suddenly, however, all of the noise halted... and silence
prevailed.
With a powerful, resounding *THUNK*, the right door flew open, a large dent pounded into its
middle. The rubbish bin tumbled down the stairs as it was knocked away. Zombies streamed out
into the courtyard, meandering about for almost a minute before the slowly began to drift apart,
moving away aimlessly. At that point, two more zombies finally exited the building.
The first was a German shepherd, and it stumbled its way out of the open doors. There were two
huge gaping holes in its body at the chest, and several other, older wounds across its arm and
neck-- the bandages on them didn't do much since blood had already stopped flowing. Its blank
gaze slowly searched across the courtyard, and it simply flopped down into a combined laying and
sitting position on the brick steps. It licked absently at the copious amount of blood
dribbling from its muzzle.
A fox followed it out, fur matted, covered in refuse stains. Huge, jagged gashes criss crossed
its back, blood still leaking out of the deeply torn flesh, but not as much as from the large
opening in its shoulder. A broad section of flesh was missing from the fox's neck, exposed bone
showing tooth marks. The fox stumbled out and stood next to the dog. Its muzzle raised faintly
into the air, nostrils working until it apparently caught the scent for which it searched.
The zombie bumbled its way down the stairs, one foot turned at an odd angle as it failed to
remain within correct alignment as it walked. The dog zombie slowly stood and followed after.
Both zombies walked out past the fountain in the courtyard and made their way to an open gate,
which lead out to a main road.
The two zombies paused as more began to mass behind them. Both the dog and the fox sniffed
the air again, and let out faint growls. As one, the growing horde turned right and proceeded
down the street, moving purposefully toward their desired goal.
<END SCENE>
It's that time again, Apoc-Fur-Lypse fans! Group 5 has been whittled down to a mere two characters and they are putting it all on the line to get into Azure Dynamics, the apparent epicenter of this event. Will they make it? Let's find out:
Here is a behind-the-scenes look at the breakdown of the action for this scene.
The party encounters the zombie Steve.
Tenacity (8) to try and re-kill Steve. Thomas is at -4 to his roll.
Sam 3 + trait of 3 = 6 FAILURE
Jeff 7 + trait of 2 = 11 SUCCESS
Andy 8 + trait of 0 = 0 FAILURE
Thomas 0 + trait of 2 = 2-4 FAILURE
Jeff will handle Steve... but Thomas won't let that happen.
Can Jeff kill Steve?
Agility (14) to hit Steve with a gun. Requires +1 to kill.
Jeff 8 + trait of 6 = 14 SUCCESS-HIT
Jeff 5 + trait of 6 = 11 FAILURE
Jeff wings Steve, but Steve keeps coming.
Can the party kill the headmaster?
Tenacity (6) to try and re-kill the Headmaster?
Sam 8 + trait of 3 = 11 SUCCESS
Thomas 1 + trait of 2 = 3 FAILURE
Andy 3 + trait of 0 = 3 FAILURE
Only Sam will do battle with him.
Sam has a chance to disable the Headmaster before the party is overcome. Agility (13) to hit with a melee weapon. Roll must be +1 over difficulty to kill. Each character may continue their attack until they fail to hit or kill a zombie.
Sam 9 + trait of 5 = 14 SUCCESS-KILL
Sam kills the Headmaster.
Steve goes to attack, and Thomas interposes himself.
Vitality (16) to to avoid taking a serious wound.
Thomas 8 + trait of 2 = 11 FAILURE
Thomas takes 5 points of Vitality damage. He must spend 2 Plot Points to reduce the damage.
Can everyone manage to escape Steve without being torn apart?
Agility or Awareness (11) to avoid DEATH while getting away.
Sam 4 + trait of 5 = 9 FAILURE
Jeff 6 + trait of 6 = 12 SUCCESS
Andy 7 + trait of 4 = 11 SUCCESS
Thomas 0 + trait of 9 = 9 FAILURE
Jeff and Andy (and Mandy) get away but Sam and Thomas do not.
Sam and Thomas better be pretty lucky.
Luck (10 + amount the prior roll missed the target #) to survive.
Sam 7 + trait of 6 = 13 Target number of 12. SUCCESS
Thomas 3 + trait of 0 = 3 Target number of 12. FAILURE
Sam manages to escape zombie Steve. (-1 luck for needing the roll).
How hurt is Thomas?
Thomas is at negative Luck and no Plot Points-- he cannot go on.
Thomas gets no roll.
Thomas is torn apart by Steve.
Can everyone leave while zombie Steve is distracted?
Agility or Awareness (10) to avoid to get away.
Sam 7 + trait of 5 = 12 SUCCESS
Jeff 8 + trait of 6 = 14 SUCCESS
Andy 6 + trait of 4 = 10 SUCCESS
The group beats a hasty retreat.
Determine the group's next unofficial leader.
Influence roll, highest wins. Jeff gets +1 for being leader last scene.
Sam 7 + trait of 2 = 9
Jeff 8 + trait of 3 = 11+1
Andy 9 + trait of 4 = 13
Andy takes the lead of Group 4.
Each character involved in this chapter now loses 1 Plot Point for successfully surviving without a Harrowing Event taking place. 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. Thomas was the favorite for last chapter... sadly it wasn't enough for him to survive.
Contributing readers please choose the next direction for the group. The ad hoc leader gets 2 votes while everyone else gets 1.
Option 1: Sam's idea of getting out of town sounds good.
Option 2: The police station seems like the best idea.
Option 3: Camp out in the Lorrie and wait for the next broadcast.
Plot Point Opportuntity:
Half-Time
The Zombie Apoc-Fur-Lypse will resolve by or before the tenth scene, which means we are either at the half-way point, or past it. As such, you are faced with a sudden-death Plot Point challenge. The Plot Points for this chapter must be sent to me via private message (DO NOT POST IT HERE BECAUSE THESE BIDS ARE SECRET!). Any contributing reader may spend a Plot Point.
The group that spends the most Plot Points will regain the points they spent AND receive a bonus plot point each-- but if the group does not win then the Plot Points spent are lost. The group with the lowest number of Plot Points used will automatically suffer a Harrowing Event in chapter 7... or an Apoc-Fur-Lypse Apocalypse if they were already slated to have a Harrowing Event. Hint: that's bad.
Any contributing reader may spend a plot point to have Mandy join the party as a full-fledged survivor with her own ISTAYALIVE stats as follows:
Mandy O'Connor
Influence 8
Survival 6
Tenacity 3
Agility 5
Youth 4
Awareness 3
Luck 5
Ingenuity 6
Vitality 5
Endurance 5
She will start with the average of everyone's Plot Points if chosen.
Any contributing reader may spend a plot point to have Becca join the party as a full-fledged survivor with her own ISTAYALIVE stats as follows:
Rebecca (Becca) Davison
Influence 5
Survival 6
Tenacity 5
Agility 5
Youth 5
Awareness 5
Luck 6
Ingenuity 4
Vitality 5
Endurance 4
She will start with the average of everyone's Plot Points if chosen.
Sam may spend a Plot Point to remove his -1 to Luck.
Congratulations to Group 4 for successfully saving Mandy. It was a costly venture, sacrificing two survivors, but you can't put a price on love. Hopefully that cost won't inflate in the next few chapters. Good luck!