# [d20 Apocalypse] After the Blast IC



## airwalkrr (Oct 31, 2009)

This thread is for players in the [d20 Apocalypse] After the Blast campaign only. Others may feel free to lurk. If you would like to discuss the campaign, anyone is welcome to join us in the OOC thread (see signature).

Rules for Posting in this Thread​*1)* Please do not post OOC comments on this thread (that is what the OOC thread is for).
*2)* All players must fill out the title section for each post. The title section should include your character's name, current hit points/max hit points, plus any conditions currently affecting the character such as: Daniel Stokes, 32/45 hp, dazed.
*3)* Describe actions and spoken words only. Do not describe thoughts unless you use spoiler tags as these should be for GM's eyes only (there might be someone with psionics around reading thoughts). In any event, you are not required to post your character's thoughts unless I ask you to.
*4)* When posting spoken words, be sure to use *bold* type and colored font. There are only eight choices available for colored font: *red*, *dark orange*, *yellow*, *lime*, *dark slate blue*, *cyan*, *blue* and *purple*. Color choice is first-come, first-served, and once you choose a color, you cannot switch to a different one. If a player drops from the game or flakes out, his/her color will become available for use for new players only. Existing players must continue to use their old color.
*5)* Use InvisibleCastle for all of your rolls. You will need an InvisibleCastle account in the name of your character or your EN World screen name. If you choose to use your EN World screen name, you will need to include your character name in the notes of each roll. Whenever you make a roll, simply link back to the roll in your post using a URL tag. Add in all applicable bonuses and/or penalties to your roll on InvisibleCastle to save time.
*6)* Choose when to use an action point at the time you make the roll. If it does not look like a good enough roll at the time you make the roll, and you wish to add an action point, make an action point roll immediately afterwards and link to the action point beneath the roll. Don't worry. I can do simple addition. Once you have submitted your post, it will be too late to add an action point.
*7)* At the beginning of each combat, roll five d20s. I will use these throughout the battle, although I will make most of the other rolls (such as damage rolls) myself. If any of the rolls look low enough that you want to add an action point to them, the beginning of the battle is when you should do it. If for some reason you do not end up using that roll, the action point will not be spent. When you are down to two d20s, I will have you roll up five more.
*8)* At the beginning of each combat round, post a priority of three main actions in case your turn comes up and your primary action is no longer necessary. For instance, if you choose to attack a gang leader with your pistol on your initiative of 10 but one of your allies takes the gang leader down on initiative of 13, you should have two backup actions to perform, such as, aiding someone stabilizing one of your fallen allies, gathering up dropped weapons and ammo, and so forth. List them in priority order with 1) being your primary objective, 2) being your secondary objective, and 3) being your tertiary objective.
*9)* Please do not post in this thread until you have received permission to post your character in the Rogue's Gallery (see signature).
*10)* Please do not edit your post without requesting my permission on the OOC thread. If I see a post has been edited and includes an action point, I will disregard the action point and consider it unspent. Again, you must decide whether or not to add an action point to a roll before you submit your post.

Chapter 2 (in progress)


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## airwalkrr (Nov 1, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020*

_Disclaimer: The settings of After the Blast and Atomic Sunrise are fantasy settings that take place within an alternate reality. Although some parts of it may seem very similar to our own world, it is not the same. Some real-life celebrities and political figures exist within the setting, but they are not exact duplicates of those found in our own world, nor are they meant to be._

Introduction​It has been a crazy, busy morning. The streets of Chicago and all of its neighboring suburbs are packed with voters turning out in droves for what has been one of the most hotly contested U.S. Presidential elections in decades. Republican President Sarah Palin easily rode into office for her first term in 2016 after defeating a weak Joe Biden who had taken office when tragedy struck President Barack Obama in the middle of his second term while aboard Air Force One on the way to Europe for a diplomatic mission (while al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the accident, it was never publicly confirmed). Not only is this election historic because of Sarah Palin's controversial tenure as President, but it is the first time ever that all 50 states have adopted a fair distribution clause for the assignment of delegates to the Electoral College, meaning that the election is no longer a winner-takes-all affair.

Both President Sarah Palin and challenger Tim Kaine have campaigned all over the country instead of concentrating only on so-called "swing states" in an effort to secure as many electoral votes as possible and voter turnout is expected to be at its highest ever, both in terms of pure numbers and percentages. Extra polling stations have even been set up to handle the overflow, and people are lined up for blocks in some places, standing outside in freezing weather to cast their vote. And then it happened.

It started with a flash. Then there was a boom. And then a tremor along the ground, followed by silence. When you awoke your ears were ringing and you were seeing spots in your eyes. You felt dizzy, nauseated, and quite off-balance. You crawled to your feet, grabbing a hold of whatever was nearby. Your hearing was the first to return. The sounds of ringing was slowly replaced with the sounds of screams, crying, and dozens of car alarms blaring out in futility. Then the spots in your eyes began to fade, and you gazed upon the horrific sight. The streets were trashed. Cars, trucks, even entire semis had been thrown into buildings. Only the sturdiest buildings were still standing, bloody smears painting the tapestry of cement walls all around you, the telltale sign of bodies that had been flung against them with tremendous force. And then your eyes turned skyward to behold the grimmest sight of all. A cloud unlike you had ever personally witnessed before. But you knew what it stood for. So many times you had seen its like on horror films, documentaries about old wars and weapons. Centered over downtown Chicago, perhaps 15 miles away, was a mushroom cloud.


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## airwalkrr (Nov 1, 2009)

*Game Info*

[sblock=All Players]Roll 1d50+25. That is the percentage of hit points in damage you have sustained during the course of the blast (round down) due to falling debris, being crushing in your car, etc. For example, if you roll 10+25, then you have sustained 35% damage. Multiply your current hp by 0.35, round down, and subtract that amount from your current hp.[/sblock]


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## Dekana (Nov 1, 2009)

*Sophie Lin, 6/9 hp*

Sophie tries to open her eyes, but she quickly closes them again when the blood running down her face starts to sting. She fumbles blindly with her hands until she realizes that there is a gash running down her forehead. Weakly, she mutters, *"What..."*

A few moments ago, she had been at the 7-Eleven counter, paying for her food and slurpee. Even looking the opposite direction, she could notice the bright flash from the window behind her. Figuring it was just a car's headlights - during the day? - , she reached out to hand the clerk her credit card. Naturally, it wasn't actually "her" card, but rather the unlucky woman's who left it in her car while she went to vote. Easy pickings.

But Sophie was interrupted when the ground beneath her began to shake. She faltered and dropped the card onto the counter. The clerk, apparently seeing something that she didn't, gasped and raised his arm to point outside the window. Sophie turned to look, only just in time to see the large plane of glass shatter - and blow apart right toward her.

Now, lying on the floor, blinded and aching all over, the young woman feebly cries out in pain. Ten... twenty... thirty seconds pass with no response. Finally, she stands. She feels a strong breeze at her face, enough to catch her long black hair and toss it backward. *"Hey, uh, dude "* - she wasn't paying attention to the clerk's nametag - *"what was that?"* No response.

Sophie vaguely remembers a roll of paper towels only a few feet away near the plate of donuts. Still unable to see, she uses the counter to guide her toward the snacks. She winces in pain again when she cuts herself on a shard of glass on the counter. Nevertheless, she manages to reach the towels and wipe her face clean. The blood still flows from her head, so she takes a large wad of the paper and holds it against the wound.

Sophie turns around to inspect the devastation.

[sblock=rolls / ooc]Percent damage sustained from nuclear detonation. (1d50+25=36)
Max hp 9 * .36 = 3.24, rounded to 3, 9 - 3 = 6 hp remaining.

According to google maps, there is a 7-Eleven at the corner of route 45 and 143rd street.

Also, I took a few liberties with Sophie's situation - the nature of the damage she took (flying glass), where she was, who she was with... I hope those are all right?[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 1, 2009)

*Francisco Quiroga 13/22*

Fransisco was traveling in the subway, calmly balancing in his seat with the movement of the underground train. He had left most of his loggings in the hotel he was returning to after his shooting contest. In his case was his crossbow, now winner of another prize. Under the ground level, the passagers didn't notice the flash, but a few seconds later, the subway suffered almost an earthquake. The big shake took the train out of it's rails, and sent it crashing with it's left side. Luckily for Francisco, but not for the people waiting the train in the 143erd metro station, the subway was near the station. It burst in the already chaotic station, rushing with anyone standing nest to the edge, before colliding with the concrete walls on the other side. 
The physicist was lucky to be in the middle wagon. He was catapulted forward under the seats, and imprisoned there, under a pile of twisted metal bars. Somehow, that kept him from being through out through the window to a most certain death, like it happened to many passengers.
The last collision freed Francisco. He remained inside for a few moments, but the understood that he had to find a way out. And quickly. If that was an earthquake, it could strike again soon.
Stumbbling outside, his mind was too feble to understand the horrors he was watching. People cut clean in two halves, smashed into a puddle by the train or the falling celling, pierced with metal derbies. He then realized he wasn't hearing a thing. He didn't hear the screams, the shouting, nothing. Perhaps it was better that way.
Barely he got to the stairs, and his system started to accommodate. He began to hear the shouting from behind, and his eyes began to truly see. People running into the station, oblivious of what was in there. There was some corpses on the stairs, under boulders and rocks, pieces of concrete. Francisco couldn't believe what he was beholding. As he walked slowly upwards, he lifted his head and saw a woman running towards him, down the stairs. She was desperate, and was bleeding. He was bleeding too, but didn't realized that yet. At a few feet away from him, a piece of the roof got loose, and fell over her, crushing her frame in seconds. Francisco automatically lifted his hands to cover his head, and then slowly lowered them. The woman was dead and her blood started to run downwards from the pile of rubble that had fall over her. The man understood that this was a dangerous place. He rushed out, as fast as he can and almost got crushed like that woman, but saved at the last moment. Finally, he got outside, and the fresh air hit his face.
But that was the only good moment. He stared open mouth to the mushroom cloud in the distance. _"I'm already dead"_ he said (in spanish of course). With that in his mind, he walked like a zombie, barely grasping his suitcase, towards the market in he distance, perhaps he could find some survivors inside. The streets were just covered with death. 



[sblock=Roll]1d50+25=0.42x22=9 hp[/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Nov 2, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 11:00 AM (17:00 GMT)*

*The 7-Eleven*
When Sophie's vision clears she sees that numerous parts of the roof of the mini-mart have collapsed. The clerk is covered in debris from the collapsed roof. His right arm, head and part of his upper torso is still visible. He has a few cuts and scratches on his face and is clearly unconscious, but it is difficult to tell from here whether he is actually alive or not.

Outside, the covered filling station has been ripped from the ground and burst fuel pipes are spraying gas and ethanol into the sky. The electrical charging stations appear to be shut-off by some fail-safe mechanism, otherwise you imagine the sparks would have caused an inferno by now. The smell of the gas already permeates the air around you. A few people lie on the ground here and there, not moving. You can see others running about the street in panic, but no one dares approach the gas.

*The Subway*
As Francisco makes his way to the shopping center, he sees that the intersection of 143rd and S. La Grange St. (Route 45) are in bad shape. Cars, vans, SUVs, and pick-up trucks are tossed everywhere and the fuel stations on three of the four corners have been nearly toppled. Each of them is spewing fuel into the air from their detached pumps. He has to be careful to move around them to avoid the noxious vapor.

As he approaches the shopping center, he sees more chaos and destruction. The glass-paned entrances have all been shattered. People are running about in distress. Some dart inside for cover. Others rush outside to see what is going on or to check on loved ones. Some people just sit in the middle of the parking lot with tears streaming down their faces.

Vehicles are stacked up along the north wall of the southern building making entry or exit via that direction impossible. People are flooding out the west exits in terror.

The south building is an Eagle Foods supermarket (cars stacked up the north side). The west building includes a Barnes & Noble bookstore, a local Vietnamese restaurant, a night club (currently closed) called Blue 72, and an AT&T store. The small northeast building is a Chase bank. The L-shaped east building includes a Flingers restaurant, a Hobby Lobby store, a Domino's Pizza place, a Cash Advance America payday advance store, and a Tan n' Go tanning salon.


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## Blackrat (Nov 2, 2009)

*Kyle 3/9*

Kyle woke up from the wreck. The lorry had neatly pinned his car to the wall but amazingly hadn't damaged it very much. It had at the same time shielded him from the blast while pushing his car sideways. Kyle was feeling fuzzy. He wasn't certain what had happened but he scampered out from his car and picked up the medical kit from the backseat. He had been driving back home from the hospital and had seen a bright light that had dazed him. Then nothing until waking up just now.

Considering the sun hadn't moved at all, he had been out cold only minutes. He looked around and saw only cars smashed to the wall and thrown around. Something huge had happened. Taking his kit (being a medstudent, he kept a bit better emergency eguipment in his car than most people) he ran to the first car to check on the driver while at the same time cursing to his cellphone for not turning on.

His legs failed him immediately and he dropped to his knees. Feeling around he noticed his head was moist and brought bloody fingers before his eyes. "S***..." He whispered. He must've hit his head.

_Lucky I'm a doctor._ He thinks and can't help but smile. Feeling around his head he removes all the larger bits of scrap and wraps a makeshift bandage around his head. The bleeding seems to have already been stopped. _Got to get to a bathroom or something and wash my head..._

Finally he has the time actually look around. "S***..." He whispers again as the sight of a mushroom cloud registers in his brain. Failing to get up from his knees Kyle stumbles across the street, hauling his med kit behind.

[sblock=OOC]I pick Cyan as Kyle's voice. Took quite a hit too: 1d50+25=70[/sblock]


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 2, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 9/32*

Sergeant James Matthews wakes up, and immediately vomits.   Regaining consciousness face down in detritus composed of concrete chunks, broken glass, and jagged pieces of sheet metal, James props himself on his hands and knees, head swimming, ears ringing, eyes closed, and thinks.  *Broken glass… blood.  I wasn’t shot.  Wait… waiting to meet the seller… man… man called…*

James opens his eyes, and becomes acutely aware of a sharp pain in his left thigh.  Looking down, a deep, jagged gash across his quadriceps proves to be the culprit.  James swears, rolls on to his back and for the first time, takes in the devastation of the warehouse around him.  

This was supposed to be the meeting point where Sergeant Matthews, acting undercover, would be able to make his first contact with a seller purportedly able to supply some unspecified quantity of an elusive new designer narcotic being moved through Chicago: a small warehouse that formerly functioned as a brake repair shop, empty except for two vehicle lifts and a hand full of metal containers. Now the structure was in ruins.  The windows and glass skylights in the ceiling had been completely blown out, the shattered remnants strewn across the floor, one vehicle lift had collapsed, missing crushing James by a matter of feet, and both articulated metal doors were completely shredded by the force of some large object.  *“That explains the cuts”*, James says to himself out loud.  The sound of his own voice surprises him: it sounds muffled, distant.  Like someone else.  _*What the f*** did this?  Was I set up? *_ 

Shakily, and with great effort, James stands, suddenly becoming aware of the noise of chaos outside the warehouse.  Limping, he makes his way to the shattered entrance and immediately comes across what is left of his car, upside down, crushed against the outside of the warehouse doors; the object which rent the metal during impact. 

Leaning against the on of the Altima’s upturned tires, all thoughts of a car bomb slip from his mind as James takes in the scene of horror on the streets and former businesses in front of him: broken glass littering the streets and sidewalks; cars crushed and mangled in every conceivable manner; store front windows belching smoke and gouts of flame; lacerated, crushed, bleeding, and burnt bodies everywhere, and screaming.  And looming over the entire terrible, unthinkable scene, in the distance, is the silhouette of the mushroom cloud over downtown Chicago. 

*“Lara… the kids… oh God…”* 

[sblock=Roll]Damage sustained by the blast  32 - (32x0.74) = 9 in bruises, superficial cuts from the glass windows and skylights, and one deep gash on the leg. [/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Nov 2, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 11:05 AM (17:05 GMT)*

As the survivors panic, moan in anguish, and desperately try to free loved ones from crushed vehicles, the first local disaster occurs. You aren't certain what was going on before, but an overturned Volkswagen Jetta in the parking lot of the Bank of America begins to spark from the undercarriage. Something is apparently wrong with its battery (it seems to be an electric model) and the sparks threaten to ignite the gasoline and ethanol spewing from the nearby fuel stations.


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## Blackrat (Nov 2, 2009)

*Kyle 3/9*

Having caught his breath and helped some stranger to get her husband out of a car Kyle notices the VW sparking near the gas station. "S***" He mutters again, realising he has been saying that quite a lot in the past minutes. "Ma'am, sir, you better move and fast." He says to the couple who seem to be capable of getting out themselves and starts running to the opposite direction of the station. First east and then a thought hits him. The mall seems to have survived pretty well. He turns towards the mall to get some shelter and time to recuperate a bit.


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## airwalkrr (Nov 2, 2009)

*Game Info*

[sblock=All Players]Attached is a map showing relative locations of buildings. It's not perfectly to scale, but it gives you the general idea of where everything's relative position is to each other.

Warehouse - Yellow
Bank of America - Fuchsia 
BP fuel station - Green
Mobil fuel station - Blue
7-Eleven fuel station - Red[/sblock]


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## Willette (Nov 2, 2009)

The car continues to lay silent while Xavier frantically turns the keys, unaware at his young age of the effects of EMP. A bark from outside the door snaps him suddenly back to reality. "Gadget!", he screams. In all the commotion of finding his father he'd never thought to check the back for his dog. He jumps out of the cab of the truck and instantly Gadget is licking his face, whimpering as it looks towards his father. "We have to get home boy, we have to find Mom!", shouts Xavier. "But with no truck how are we ever going to get that far? Stay here for a minute while I grab my stuff, boy."

As Xavier looks at what he has it dawns on him that theres no way he can carry it all alone...unless...

Moving quickly he grabs the blanket from the seat and wraps it around Gadget and duck tapes it closed. "Stay put while I try something Gadget, I might need your help." Taking off his bookbag he throws in his lunch, the First Aid Kit, binoculars, his electrical tool kit and tapes the bookbag around the blanket on Gadget before throwing in the tape and zipping the bag closed. Although he'd always been resourceful, only now was he becoming aware of how useful the lessons his father had taught him, about getting the most out of everything at all times, really were. Picking up his toolbag and slinging it over his shoulder he shoves the map in his back pocket. "Alright boy, lets go find that mall I saw on the way here. I need a bike or something if I'm gonna make it home to find Mom, hopefully I won't have to steal it."

[sblock=OOC]
Roll Lookup
Xavier -7 - 7* 0.6 =~ 3 hp
Gadget -13 - 13* 0.26 =~ 10 hp
[/sblock]


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## Dekana (Nov 2, 2009)

*Sophie Lin, 6/9 hp*

Sophie appears relatively calm upon seeing the destruction along the intersection (although "dazed" might be more appropriate). The sight of the mushroom cloud makes her jaw drop, however. Her upper body shaking from a combination of the pain and fear, she takes a few steps backward into the half-collapsed mini-mart.

Next to catch Sophie's attention is the sparking Jetta across the street. She looks back and forth between the car and the mushroom cloud before apparently deciding on a course of action. Sophie turns around to the unconscious clerk, starts pulling rubble off him, and begins to yell.

*"Wake up!"* She smacks him lightly across the cheek. *"Hey! You have to turn off the pumps!"*

[sblock=actions]Try to wake up the clerk. If that fails, Sophie looks around for whatever switch / lever cuts off the fuel. If she can't find it, she'll probably take off running. I'm not sure if treat injury can even be used since I don't have a first aid kit handy, but I'll roll that and spot.

Treat Injury; Spot (1d20=15, 1d20=14)[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 2, 2009)

Hearing the man shouting, Francisco's eyes posed upon the sparking car. His eyes widen when he thinks of the possible magnitude of the explosion that could cause. Making use of some inner strength, Francisco pulled himself along and ran towards the mall as fast as he can, dragging his case with him. *"Mier** Mier** Mier** Mier**" *he curses constantly as he hasty makes his way to safety.


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 3, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 9/32*

"Kids...kids... Hey Kid!"  Seeing a young boy in the street struggling with what appears to be a blanket, James snaps out of his awe at the sight unfolding in front of him.  "Kid!  You need to get out of the street!  Away from here... that fuel is dangerous.  Run, now!"   Motioning momentarily in the general direction of the mall, James turns to the ruined Altima and levels a fierce sequence of kicks at the lock mechanism of the upturned trunk.  "Gotta get that duffel bag..."

[sblock=OOC]Do I need to roll anything to get the trunk open? If so: Str[/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Nov 3, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 11:10 AM (17:10 GMT)*

Gadget whimpers a bit at being used as a beast of burden, but he steadfastly sticks with his master as Xavier heads to the mall.

*****

The 7-Eleven clerk (whose name badge says Aziz) wakens in a stupor. He seems disoriented as he slowly asks, "*Was that a bomb?*"

His eyes are glassed over and he tries to free himself from the rubble. With Sophie's help most of the fallen ceiling is cleared off, but there is an enormous shard of glass in his right leg. He cannot stand. But he can sit propped up against the counter just enough to see the debacle outside.

"*Turning off the pumps won't help at this point,*" he struggles to speak. "*They ground lines have been ripped out.*"

*****

As Francisco approaches the shopping center, he sees utter chaos and confusion. Dozens, if not hundreds, have gathered in the parking lot to gaze at the majestic fireball still alighting into the sky. Some have gathered into prayer circles while others preach of Armageddon. There are those who blindly panic, literally running around in circles. A few have already taken to looting as shopping carts filled with diapers, paper towels, bottled water, bandages, and pharmaceuticals are hauled out by the more opportunistic types.

*****

The trunk to James' Altima seems jammed pretty good from the crunch it took in the blast. But after a few good kicks it pops open.


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 3, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 9/32*

James opens the crumpled trunk, grabbing his duffel bag and allowing the rest of the contents to spill haphazardly on the glass strewn pavement.  

"Sh** gotta move fast." 

He begins shoving things into the bag, ripping open his tool kit and evidence collection kit and grabbing a few choice items.  Flinging the bag across his back, he grabs the small fire extinguisher in hand and sprints toward across the street toward the 7-11.  

"Hey lady! Guy! You need help or what?  You gotta get out of there, quick!"

[sblock=OOC]Items grabbed: Everything except the evidence and tool kits.  From those: Bolt cutters, duct tape, a few pairs of gloves, and some small containers. [/sblock]


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## Blackrat (Nov 3, 2009)

*Kyle 3/9*

The sprint to the mall left Kyle gasping for air. He wasn't really an athlete and had to put his head down to gather his breath. Noticing the people on the parking lot staring at the cloud he starts to look around. The people looting the stores seemed somewhat strange until he realises that they probably have it right. There's going to be need for clean water and food soon. He quickly pops to the closest store, grabs a bag and throws some cans of preserved food and water bottles in it before slinking back to the lot.


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## Dekana (Nov 4, 2009)

*Sophie Lin, 6/9 hp*

On hearing the warning from the man outside the store, Sophie quickly digs through the rubble to recover her purse. Through the open window she yells *"We are coming! The man here is hurt though."* She then turns to Aziz and offers a hand, attempting to help him stand on his injured leg.

*"Let's get out of here then. That car is going to blow, and we do not want to be here when it does."*


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## airwalkrr (Nov 4, 2009)

James sees that the only safe way to approach the 7-Eleven is from the electrical charge station side, where apparently some fail-safe mechanism has kept the chargers from sparking. Ethanol and gasoline are spewing from the other direction. Even getting within 30 feet of the fumes is starting to nauseate him however (roll a Fortitude save, remember to add the action point before you submit if you think it's too low).


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## airwalkrr (Nov 4, 2009)

Kyle darts into Eagle Foods against a mad rush of panicked shoppers and staff. By the time he makes it to the aisle with the bottled water he is too late. It is all gone. Every last bottle. There is soda pop (in both aluminum cans and plastic bottles) and juice however. He has better luck with the preserved foods, although a lot of the staples like rice, beans, pasta, and dried fruits are already gone. (One can is about 1 pound. Feel free to load up on as much as you can carry.)

*****

Because of Aziz's leg injury, he can only hobble (5 ft. speed). Sophie finds she is not strong enough to carry him (weight 210 pounds), but with her helping support him, they manage to move at half speed (15 ft.). However the fumes from the gasoline and ethanol are starting to get to them. (Roll Fortitude save against nausea.)


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## Dekana (Nov 4, 2009)

*Sophie Lin, 6/9 hp*

Sophie finds herself gasping for air soon after leaving the store, the oxygen being displaced by gas fumes.

[sblock=fort save]Fort save (1d20+1=19)
Yay, I'm starting off to some good rolls.[/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Nov 4, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 11:15 AM (17:15 GMT)*

Sophie reaches the middle of the intersection with Aziz draped around her arm just as James comes hustling towards her. About that time, you notice out of the corner of your eye that a pool of fuel seems to have trickled across the street from the Mobil station. Instinctively, you duck for cover as a rogue spark flies southward. The fuel trail shoots towards the Mobil station in an instant causing a massive fireball.

**FOOM**

The heat overwhelms everyone still in the area.

[sblock=Dekana and Hob Marshmallowfoot]Roll a Reflex save against the heat wave. Remember to add your action point before you submit if you think it's too low.[/sblock]

The Mobil station is now on fire. The 7-Eleven and BP are certain to follow within minutes if not seconds.


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## airwalkrr (Nov 4, 2009)

The fireball from the Mobil station is large enough to cause a stir among the crowd gathered at the shopping center. Kyle, Francisco and Xavier all hear the sound of the comparatively small explosion and those outside can even see it as fire and smoke billow into the air.


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 4, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 9/32*

Nauseated by the combined ethanol and petrol fumes, James gags and turns his head away from the spewing fuel...  

[sblock=Fort save] I'll use an AP on this; seems important, what with the life or death situation we have going here. 1d20+6 = 9 + 1 = *10* I'm glad one of us is rolling well... [/sblock]


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## Blackrat (Nov 4, 2009)

Better than nothing, Kyle shrugs and throws a few bottles of soda in the small bag he found. Then he gathers up some cans of food to keep him alive for a few days. The fireball snaps him up again and he realises the gas must have gone off as he expected. He walks back to the parking lot to take a look.

[sblock=OOC]I'll take enough to stay alive for approximately 3 days. So I guess that'd be around 10 lbs of food and drink, with a hope that I can find something else to drink too ...[/sblock]


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## Dekana (Nov 4, 2009)

*Sophie Lin, 6/9 hp*

Sophie, normally quite agile, finds herself slowed down by her support Aziz.

[sblock=Reflex save]Reflex save (1d20+4=6)
So much for the good rolls. I'll save the action points; I don't think adding one would be enough to meet whatever the DC is.[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 4, 2009)

Francisco took a moment to collect himself inside the mall. People were crazy around him, fighting for the few canned food left. He knew he could have taken a few provisions, but he had too much going on in his head. In the moment he was contemplating that, the gas station blew in a huge fireball. Shaken by the shock wave, the physicist barely stood up, to see if his calculations of the explosion were accurate. With half a smile he sat down again.
He looked at the man in hospital clothes filling a bag with all kind of food.
*"You should take something to drink too, or all those things will stuck in your oesophagus."* he chuckled. His pronunciation was even worst than he thought.


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## Blackrat (Nov 4, 2009)

Better prepare yourself. Kyle answers to the Hispanic and throws a can for him. We're late for the party, but they had the right idea. He points to the nearly empty drinks department.

[Sblock=OOC]Btw Voda, Kyle is dressed casually in jeans and shirt. He left the scrubs to his locker in the hospital.[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 4, 2009)

Francisco grabs the can and pockets it. 
*"Seguramente my friend, my name's Francisco, by the way. At least you don't have that crazy eyes the rest seems to have. If you don't mind we could stick together. We may have more chances."*
He stands with the help of his cane, and walks heavily to the juices' shelf and loads as much as he cans. He takes his crossbow and bolts out of the case, and fills it with juice bottles. Then he assembles the weapon and hangs it around his chest. Supporting his weight on the cane, he walks back to Kyle. *"Don't get me that face, it's just for competitions, but I won't throw it away to make room for the liquid."*

OOC:My mistake!


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## Willette (Nov 4, 2009)

As Xavier enters the mall he looks around at the chaos within, people are running everywhere with shopping carts and armloads of supplies. Making his way carefully, to avoid getting trampled, towards the closest store he spies several cans of pop and some canned good left over from the rush. Down the aisle a college student seems to have the same idea. Shoving 3 cans of root beer and 3 cans of spaghetti-o's in Gadget's bag he turns to leave when he notices the dog food on a low shelf. He grabs the 20 lb bag he places it in the bookbag and zips it shut.

"Sorry for the added weight boy but your going to need to eat too and this is the smallest size they have! But don't worry theres not room for much else in that bag anyway."

He is about to continue looking for a bike when suddenly a muted boom comes from outside the mall. That must've been what that man was talking about when he told him to run, yikes.

"Now where,can I find a bike in this mess without getting crushed by these crazy looters....Good thing your so big Gadget or i'd be a little afraid to be here.", he says, patting the dog's big head.

[sblock=OOC]
I'll update my char sheet to fit new supplies. Cans in d20 apocalypse book are 0.5 lb. Gadget is a mastiff clocking in around 180 lbs or so, the bag will last ~2 weeks (90 cups @ 6 cups a day).
[/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Nov 5, 2009)

*Game Info*

[sblock=Dekana and Hob Marshmallowfoot]Sophie and James each take 4 points of fire damage from the heat of the blast. They are *not* in danger of catching fire however.[/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Nov 5, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 11:20 AM (17:20 GMT)*

[sblock=All Players]According to Willette, cans weigh 1/2 pound. Feel free to use that in your calculations for how much you can carry. There are plenty of plastic grocery bags in the supermarket to carry stuff, even though plastic bags don't tend to be the most durable things. The grocery store is completely out of cloth bags, paper bags, coolers, and any other type of more durable storage container. Those all appear to have been taken by the first round of looters. I might also mention that ice is gone as well.[/sblock][sblock=Willette]See post 6 for a list of buildings in the shopping plaza. Not likely to find a bike at any of them.[/sblock]

In the aftermath of the Mobil station fireball. People who had taken cover begin fleeing the scene. The other nearby stations are certain to catch ablaze soon. James and Sophie seem somewhat injured from the blast, as does Aziz, who is now too wearied to move of his own volition.

*****

Xavier darts outside to see the commotion around the blazing Mobil station. Sure enough, a large pillar of smoke is billowing into the air. It can't be long until the other two stations go up in flames as well.


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 5, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 5/32*

Singed from the combusting fuel, and with sweat dripping down to sting his eyes, James works his way over to the other side of the convenience store clerk.  Propping him up from the other side, he turns to the girl, "It'll be quicker with both of us.  Let's get out of here before the other station goes up." 
James then begins moving toward the mall.

[sblock='roll']Reflex save: 1d20+1=9, if it makes a difference[/sblock]


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## Dekana (Nov 5, 2009)

*Sophie Lin, 2/9 hp*

Thoroughly dazed from the blast, Sophie at first only manages to nod at the stranger's words. She resumes her support of Aziz and hobbles along the broken city street.

*"Anywhere but here..."*


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## Blackrat (Nov 5, 2009)

*Kyle 3/9*

Kyle throws the last can in his bag and looks curiously at the hispanic assembling a small crossbow. Not at all. I'm afraid it might come useful if all the apocalypse movies got it right. He offers his hand to Francisco. Kyle. We should probably get out of here as fast as possible.


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## airwalkrr (Nov 5, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 11:25 AM (17:25 GMT)*

It is slow going as Sophie and James carry Aziz to relative safety. By this time, only the most daring and foolhardy are anywhere close to the fuel stations. Sophie, James, and Aziz get about a hundred feet away from the intersection when they hear another burst of flame.

*FOOM*

The 7-Eleven has been engulfed in a gigantic fireball like its sister station across the street. Screams can be heard coming from the shopping center, which seems to have become a gathering place for the survivors. Many are in the main parking lot which, while full of debris, is still relatively clear considering the condition of many other places. Another popular gathering place is the south side of the Eagle Foods, which was well-shielded from the blast. It is here that there are several loading docks for the semi trucks that deliver goods to the store. Apparently a number of employees opened the bay doors and began tossing out the back-stock into carts and whatever other carrying devices they could.

*FOOM*

The third and final fuel station goes up in flames just as James, Sophie, and Aziz make it to the shopping center. A stream of people are running in and out of the store. Shopping carts are becoming a rare sight as opportunists snatch them up, fill them up with goods, and run down the street with them. Sticking out of the crowd is a young man coming out of the western entrance to the Eagle Foods store accompanied by an older gentleman with a crossbow slung around his shoulder. There is also another unusual sight, a young farm boy accompanied by a large dog with packs of food and supplies duct taped around his torso.


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 5, 2009)

Francisco stretch his hand as well *"Francisco Quiroga, physicist, if that matters somehow." *Lifting his juice full case, the man follows Kyle outside.
He comes to see a man and a woman carrying an injured youngster. *"Eu, are you alright? I mean, are you worse than the rest?"* Francisco struggles to find the proper words.


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## Willette (Nov 5, 2009)

Xavier emerges from the mall disappointed. "So much for the bike idea, boy. Looks like we'll be walking home unless I can find a car thats not beat up too badly to work. I hope Mom is ok..."

Looking around Xavier sees the college student he'd noticed earlier gathering food and the man who told him to run from that explosion he'd heard earlier. Maybe they'd help him get home. After all, if they got back to the farm there'd be no worries about food or a place to stay, the house was built for a much bigger family than his and they had food stocked in the cellar that could last months. The question is would they be willing to help...maybe if he could convince them he had something they might need.

"Hey mister! Hey!", he shouts at the man with the dreadlocks. "Could you help me get home? There's plenty of food and places to stay and I'm really worried about my mom. Plus there are guns there and with all the crazies I've seen running around I think they would be nice to have."


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 5, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 5/32*

James motions for the girl to set the clerk down, propped against the nearest abandoned vehicle.  Looking over the approaching strangers, he turn to the young farmboy, "Guns?  Son, I haven't seen much of a need for those here.  Yet at least.  If your home is nearby, then it won't be any safer than where we are now.  If not... well, we've got some more immediate concerns."  James motions to the two injured individuals he helped away from the fuel station.  " We need shelter, and medical supplies here.  Gotta consolidate, hunker down, and wait for the rescue effort."  Looking at the young boy and his dog, the injured young lady, and the other three strangers, his features soften a bit in realization, "Look, I know you're all scared.  But this country has seen terrorism before.  We'll be fine.  I'm CPD... as in police.  Name's James." 

James scans the streets surrounding the mall area, "Now let's see here..."

[sblock=ooc] Are there any medical centers, doctor's offices, or veterinary clinics in visual range?  Or any that James would be aware of in this neighborhood? Anything but a hospital. [/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Nov 6, 2009)

*Game Info*

[sblock=All Players]Anyone wishing to know if there is a certain type of building located nearby should roll a Knowledge check pertinent to that type of building. To see if you know of any clinics, medical centers, or similar locations, roll a Knowledge (earth and life sciences) check. Because Knowledge is a trained skill only, if you lack the skill, the highest possible result you can achieve is a 10. In other words, if you lack the skill, it is a straight Intelligence check with a maximum result of 10. Even if you were to get a result of 15 on your Intelligence check, it would only count as a 10 (not that a 10 might not be worth something).

Please remember to include your character name and current hp/total hp in the title section of your post as well as any conditions you might be suffering from (dazed, stunned, etc.). Not only does it help us keep track of who is who, it also helps your fellow players respond to your character's injuries appropriately.[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 6, 2009)

*Francisco Quiroga 13/22*

Francisco can barely contain himself after the man spoke. *"Fine? Are you serious about your last statement señor? If I might point something out, there's a huge smoke champignon there" *Francisco points at the mushroom cloud *"I can't even explain why are we still alive, and I'm a physicist. There's no telling of how many people died today, nor what our chances of survival are, but if you think this is something usual in your country, if I were you, I'll start picking better presidents."*
He shakes his head. "If this muchacho has a better place to be, then why not go there: there won't be loons around, and if it's a farm we will have food and other essential things to survive until, and if, the cavalry arrives. "


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## airwalkrr (Nov 6, 2009)

One of the people in the crowd overhears your conversation and walks up. He is an overweight gentleman in his mid-40s, tall and partly balding. He has a lot of dirt on his face and arms as well as cuts and scrapes all over him.

*"Hey guys. Sorry, if I'm butting in on anything, but has anyone thought about trying to find a shortwave radio to see if there is any news about this? I've checked a bunch of radios around here but they all seem to be broken. Maybe we can find one that hasn't been busted up and figure out what's going on. With a shortwave radio we can hear stuff virtually anywhere on the continent."*


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## failedreality (Nov 6, 2009)

*Tom Buckner 12/23*

All Tom could remember was following this girl through the mall.  That was his job and that is what he was paid to do. _Just another routine investigation Tom thought to himself._  That is all he remembers.

 Tom didn't know how long he was out for.  He was bruised and felt a little light headed.  His thoughts were dizzying and couldn't collect himself.  He was on his back looking up.  He faintly started hearing a bunch of people scream.  Extremely confused he tried to roll over and felt a sharp pain in his left arm.  His vision returned to see that he was scraped up pretty badly.  Cuts from flying glass and debris must have hit him at all angles.

 Tom looks up and thinks a bomb went off in the mall.  Seeing people running everywhere he is not sure what is going on.

 *"Hey anybody..  HEY,  ANYONE..  What is going on??"  *

 Tom finally gets to his feet and stands there.

[sblock='misc']Roll Lookup[/sblock]


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## Dekana (Nov 6, 2009)

*Sophie Lin, 2/9 hp*

At Xavier's mention of guns, Sophie moves a hand to her left waist, underneath her black coat. It's still there. She returns to her resting position when James introduces himself. Sophie does not look very reassured by his presence. At the same time as Francisco, she speaks with a tension in her voice, almost to the point of hysterics.

*"We'll be fine? Look there! Everyone is dead!"* Sophie lets Francisco finish after that point, not wanting to drown him out. She next voices a comment after the idea about the radios is mentioned.

*"Shouldn't we get out of the city? There must be -" * she pauses, then continues nervously - *"radiation, right?"*


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## Willette (Nov 6, 2009)

"Radio huh? I can repair one if we find something not too beat up or I can make one, I made a radio for my science fair project last year but its not as good as the real thing.", says Xavier.

"I have to get home to my mom soon so she knows I'm ok, she's home all alone! I've seen enough bad stuff around here to know I need to go."


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 6, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 5/32*

James pauses at the comments made by the scientist and young lady, and contemplates for a moment, *"Look, I'm not saying this isn't bad.  It is.  A lot of people died today and more are going to die; tens of thousands, maybe more... but this isn't the time to panic.  We've got to assess this situation and act according to our most immediate needs.  If that means getting far from here quickly, fine.  I don't know much about radiation..."* looking at Dr. Quiroga, *"What's your take on this professor?  How far away from that cloud do we need to get, and how soon?"* 

James drops his black duffel from his should, reaches inside and pulls out a midsized black device with a hand held microphone system attached, tossing it to Xavier, *"Citizens' Band; haven't checked it yet.  You think you can do something with that kid, it's yours."*







[sblock=thoughts]*Don't know if I trust these folks yet... kid reminds me of Jay...*[/sblock]

[sblock=rolls/ooc]As soon as the rolling site starts working again, I'll edit this.
Int. check for any medical/vet facilities nearby: 1d20+1 ((take 10 = 10)
Int. check to recall anything about radiation/EMP: 1d20+1 (take 10 = 11)
Knowledge[streetwise] to determine if there are any back alley medical clinics and/or warehouses/stockpiles/safe houses, especially in the industrial outskirts of the city: 1d20+10 = 12 , so probably no much near here.[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 6, 2009)

*Francisco Quiroga 13/22*

*"Let's just say I know almost everything you need about these things"* states Francisco.* "And I'm jodidamente sure that we must find a way to get as far as we can, although the explosion was far away, it might be too late for all of us, but may be not. I'm not planning on surrender."*

Knowledge (Physica science): 1d20+11=30


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## airwalkrr (Nov 7, 2009)

The tall, heavy man notices the CB radio and says, "*I've tried several of those. Had two in my pickup, but I can't even get the damn things on, even using backup power. And besides, CB doesn't have the range of shortwave. I mean, if we could get one working, it would be better than nothing I guess.*

[sblock=Voda Vosa]In your expert opinion, you are not in any danger of immediate radiation at this distance. However, you will be caught within the fallout cloud within 24-48 hours unless you put at least 50-100 miles (80 to 160 kilometers) between yourself and the blast area. The fallout cloud is certain to contain radioactive elements within that can harm you more long term and cause ability damage.[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 7, 2009)

*"You are hopeless with the radios I'm afraid. That thing fried every electronic device in a huge area."* Francisco says to the ones arguing about the radio. He frowns his face a bit, and looks at the cloud in the sky. *"We must find a way to move at least two hundred kilometers from here before tomorrow. In other words, if we are not 200 from here in aproximatedly 24 we'll get caught in the cloud fallout, and there's no telling what genetic alterations we might experience. We'll die in a few hours if we are lucky." *he annaunces with a grim face. *"Everyone within that radius from the explosion will die of fallout radiation, so I'll be more preocupated about getting our traseros out of here, and quick. Things are going to get real nasty, real quick around here." *


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## Willette (Nov 7, 2009)

Xavier takes the radio from the man and pops it open to take a quick look inside. "Perfect! It's only slightly damaged, all I need is a few wires and we'll be back in business! Anyone want to go bust one of those car stereos open and rip me out a few?"

Turning to the man with the cane Xavier says, "My farm is in Beason, thats about 200 km away I think."

[sblock]
Something like that radio might not actually suffer any damage at all but for the sake of using my skills we'll assume minor damage  its battery powered with a short antenna and therefore negligibly affected. FCIC: A Citizen Guide To Disaster Preparedness

If I can i'll just take 10 (or 20 if i can in this situation) on it and my +8 to repair aught to make that fine for simple radio repairs.
[/sblock]


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## Frozen Messiah (Nov 8, 2009)

*Terrence Cross 25/44*

Terrence has to do a push up to force the debris off of him and when he does all he does is role over on to his back. his mind goes into a place he knows very well: survival mode. He gets up and quickly checks himself over, a lot of bruising and some cuts but he will manage. The first thing he does is go to his bed room and checks under his matress and finds what he had been looking for, his combat knife. 
The door to his apartment was blocked so he had to bust it down which he did. he got to the entrance of the apartment after checking the apartment for any survivors, he found none, he opens the door slowly to see if anybody is close. He then steps outside and looks around and then he sees the cloud that looms in the background and he sighs and shakes his head. *"No time to start feeling bad Terrence we have to survive. Now first things first, we need food and supplies." *Terrence says to himself quietly then he starts walking towards the mall plaza. as he walked he opened up his phone because it started to buzz he checked it to see it was his girlfriend who called and just as he saw her name, Janice, it died. After he saw that he began running towards the mall.

[sblock]
damage roll:
1d50+25=56
0.56 x 44= 24.6 (rounded to 25)
[/sblock]


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## Dekana (Nov 8, 2009)

*Sophie Lin, 2/9 hp*

Sophie puts a palm to her face and shakes her head slowly. *"I'll take care of the wires: that is, if you do not mind, officer."* She begins to walk off to the closest unoccupied and least damaged car when she turns her head to the group and says, *"Oh, and the name is Sophie, by the way."*

While walking she mutters quietly, *"(Mandarin) It's the end of the world and I'm still ripping off car radios..."*


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 8, 2009)

*"No objection; it's not my place to ask right now.  Let's assume you're an electrician."*  James allows himself a brief smile, then addresses the academic, *"You say we need to be at least 200 KM away, and that's what, 150-160 miles?   In 24 hours? Way I see it, we've got two options here: get a vehicle working and start moving fast, or find some kind of shelter from this fallout that's going to happen.  Food, radio, and certainly weapons all take a back seat to this.  What kind of structure would provide shelter against this kind of thing prof?*


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 9, 2009)

*"Underground shelter protected with thick lead. Anyway, the radioactive depositions would remain for a long time; I hope you understand it's imperative to leave now, if we are to cover that distance. I agree on the vehicle, there must be some working transportation farther away from the blast epicenter." * replies Francisco. He seems nervous, and eager to get the hell out of there.


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## airwalkrr (Nov 9, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 11:35 AM (17:35 GMT)*

With a little bit of fiddling, a couple spare bits of wire from his tool kit and about ten minutes of work, Xavier manages to get the battery operated CB radio working. He flicks it on to the familiar sound of static. Now to find a frequency with someone on the other end...


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## Blackrat (Nov 9, 2009)

*Kyle 3/9*

Kyle looks stumped with all the technical chatter going on. You know, that looks painful. He finally says to the guy in dreadlocks who claims to be a cop, pointing to the burns he got from the fireball. It should be cleaned right away or it'll get worse. He drops his emergency pack to the ground and rummages for some desinfective and cotton. Oh right, I didn't have time for introductions. You can call me Kyle. I'm a... Well, guess I'm a doctor now. Technically I didn't get my degree yet, but that was a mere technicality anymore. Kyle is obviously nervous from the way he chatters idly.


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## Willette (Nov 9, 2009)

"If we can find a car without much damage I can probably help get it running. I've been repairing tractors with my dad for years..."

Thoughts of his father bring tears to his eyes and it takes a moment before he goes on.

"And if you need anymore supplies doctor, er....mister, I've got a small first aid kit you can use. Now let's see what we can find out about whats going on with these bombs dropping."


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 10, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 5/32*

*"Doctor? Well there's a bit of luck for a change.  Yes, much obliged, thanks; but see to these people first Doc,"* James says, motioning to the convenience store clerk and Sophie.  

* "A Doctor, a scientist and.... an expert electrician?  Quite a group."*  Nodding towards the tall middle aged man James quips,*" What are you boss, Special Forces?"* 
When he notices the boy's tears, James rests a hand on his shoulder, looks at him, and his voice softens, *"Make that two expert electricians."*

Surveying the surrounding area, James begins looking for the least damaged, most rugged vehicles around (SUVs and Trucks).  *"Now let's get the hell out of here."*

[sblock=spot]I'll assume a spot check, but let me know otherwise:1d20+9=16[/sblock]


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## Dekana (Nov 10, 2009)

*Sophie Lin, 2/9 hp*

James might see Sophie standing beside an abandoned Prius, her legs outside the car while she leans inside to work on the ignition.

[sblock=repair]I might as well try to get the car started and listen to the radio. The AM/FM bands are probably still blacked out, but it's better than sitting around.
Repair (hotwiring a car?) (1d20+4=5)
My streak of low rolls continues! Is attempting this again possible? (or taking 20, which I'll do if I can)[/url][/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 10, 2009)

Francisco nods and searchs with his eyes the surroundings, for a suitable vehicle, but the sun blocks his sight. Rubbing his eyes he states *"Bue... Find a vehicle and I'll fix it, but quickly."*


Spot:7+1=8
Repair:5+16=21


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## airwalkrr (Nov 10, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 11:40 AM (17:40 GMT)*

As James looks around, he can't help but notice several cargo truck beds hooked up to bays in the back of the supermarket. As luck would have it, a semi-truck is still attached to one of the cargo beds. Being on the southside of the building, it seems to have been mostly shielded from the blast. He quickly motions for Francisco and Xavier to come with him.

As they get closer, they realize the vehicle is indeed quite intact and quite abandoned. The only hazard is the lack of a windshield and windows, which were apparently blown out by the shock. A quick search of the inside reveals no keys, but plenty of space, even a full-sized bed in the back, among other amenities.

Xavier pops the hood while Francisco examines it. He is not incredibly familiar with semi engines, but he knows enough to tell that this is a diesel engine and that this one needs a new battery and a new starter to work. He believes that he might be able to jury-rig a starter and jump-start the battery (if there is another battery to be found that is in better condition), but he can't say for certainty how long the jury-rigged starter will work. Maybe 10 minutes. Maybe a few hours.

*****

[sblock=Dekana]A retry is possible, it just takes another 10 minutes, however...[/sblock]

As Sophie uses a piece of scrap metal to pry the radio loose, she sees that she has her work cut out for her. Just about all the wiring is fried. She spends about 10 minutes poking around to see if there is even anything worth salvaging, but the whole system appears shot. She reckons there isn't a single useful component in the entire radio.


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## Blackrat (Nov 10, 2009)

*Kyle 3/9*

Very well sir. Kyle answers to the cop and turns to the farm-boy. Now hold still kiddo, that gash on your head is even worse than mine. He starts going through all the people in this little group, starting with the farm-boy and the 7-11 clerk who seems to be most hurt. Then taking care of the burnt girl.

[sblock=OOC]Taking 10 and with HP results:
Xavier +2
Clerk +4
Sophie +3

Roll Lookup[/sblock]


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 10, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 5/32*

Approaching the semi, James is clearly pleased,*"Oh, this is good... we can work with the this.  You say it needs juice?  Sophie!  Think you can strip some battery power outta a few of these wrecks for the boys here to work with? I'm going to take a look around here, see if I can't find anything that might be of some use to us." *

James eyes the tall newcomer, *"Anyone else want to make themselves useful... no better time than the present."* 

With that, he begins searching around the cargo bay and surrounding area grabbing any spare parts (tires, engine components etc.), tools, fuel and other supplies, and tossing them haphazardly in the back of the semi.

[sblock=search]Search check 1d20+1=12 Once the cargo bay is covered, he'll expand his search to the building it is connected to, especially looking for larger useful objects that panicked looters may have overlooked.[/sblock]


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## Blackrat (Nov 10, 2009)

*Kyle 3/9*

Glancing at the cop gathering supplies while treating Xavier, Kyle remembers the stuff he keeps at the trunk of his car. Yo, Jim was it?! There's a pack in the trunk of my car. A red toyota, close to the fire. He points at the 7-11. If you can reach it safely, we could really use that stuff. It is for fixing medicines. He goes through his pockets before remembering. I left the keys to the starter.

[sblock=OOC]Provided Kyle's car survived the fireball (unlikely ), we could use the pharmacist kit that's in there.[/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Nov 10, 2009)

*Game Info*

[sblock=Blackrat]Since you chose to classify your character as a med. student, you probably wouldn't be able to afford a fully electric model vehicle. So chances are you owned a used hybrid or gasoline only model. Fully electric vehicles are on the market in this time/reality, but they are cutting edge, like the hybrids were back in 2000. Consequently, even a compact fully electric vehicle costs the same as a full-sized luxury sedan.[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 10, 2009)

*"If the battery and the starter are andando we can move this bebe like this" *Francisco claps his fingers empathizing his point. *"Although I could use some broken parts to assemble a new one"*

OOC: Taking 20 or 10 (10 in the case 20 can't be taken.) +16 to repair, +11 craft mechanics to assemble needed parts


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## airwalkrr (Nov 10, 2009)

*Game Info*

[sblock=Voda Vosa]To put it simply, you have two options:
*1)* Jury-rig the repairs with two DC 15 Repair checks (you can take 10). Each check takes 1 full round. You don't need spare parts, just the mechanical tools Xavier has. You estimate a jury-rig repair will last between 20 minutes and 2 hours.
*2)* Replace the starter and the batteries (three 12 V batteries) to complete permanent repairs with two DC 15 Repair checks (you can take 10). Each check takes 10 minutes, not counting the time it counts to find the spare parts.[/sblock]


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## Willette (Nov 10, 2009)

"Well we better hurry if we're gonna get out of here before that radiation you were talking about hits us, it's a 3 hour drive to my farm. Let's make a quick check for some batteries in the warehouse and some of these abandoned cars. Otherwise we'll have to whip up some temporary fixes and that may not last long enough to get us home. Or even out of Chicago."

[sblock]
Search: Roll Lookup
[/sblock]​


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## failedreality (Nov 10, 2009)

*Tom Buckner 12/23*

Tom continues to see a multitude of people running about aimlessly.  _something else must be going on here._  Tom starts to make his way to the entrance of the mall.  People are running back and forth, in front and behind him.  Almost every one has some type of fear striking resemblance on their face.  Tom is starting to get worried.  He starts to walk faster to the entrance to see if there is something bigger going on outside of the mall.

 Once Tom exits the mall, he cannot believe his eyes. * "Oh My …"* Before he could finish someone had accidentally ran into him as they were running into the mall.   Tom gained his balance and just looked up.  He saw this thing in movies and never imagined  he would see this in his lifetime.  Tom grab's his camera but it doesn’t seem to turn on.  He looks across the way and see some gas stations a blaze. * "Holy S***"* he screams.  His brain is pretty much frozen at the site before him, but his gut instinct tells him he needs to act and act pretty soon.  _this is all making sense now with everyone running around.  I need to find some food myself, looks like things might be pretty scarce real soon_ 

Right before Tom decides to make a quick run through the mall, he looks up and see's this guy running at him...


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## Frozen Messiah (Nov 10, 2009)

Terrence is now starting to feel the effects of none active duty as he runs through the crowd towards the mall. As he runs he hears a man scream and his military instincts kick in again and he turns towards the sound. Once he gets up to him *"What the hell is going on? are you ok?" *Terrence askes him through gasps of air and then he notices the mans camera *",Not going to work all devices seem to be dead, like my cell."*


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## Dekana (Nov 10, 2009)

*Sophie Lin, 5/9 hp*

Frustrated, Sophie steps back from the Prius and kicks the door. She stumbles to the ground immediately after, not quite realizing how dazed she is from the blast. She walks back to the group where Kyle is applying first aid.

She says to Xavier, *"Sorry, the car I looked at is fried. Can get the radio working without any more parts?"*

And then to Kyle, *"I need a band-aid for scratch I think..."* Obviously an understatement what with the gash and the many burns she has. While he tends to her, Sophie looks around for any cars that might still have salvageable engines (the battery in particular). Something with lights still on would be a plus.

[sblock=spot]Spot (1d20=4)
I'll just assume that's a failure.[/sblock]Not noticing anything, she tells Xavier *"The warehouse should be better for batteries than these wrecks. Are we all going together then?"*


----------



## Voda Vosa (Nov 10, 2009)

Francisco nods to the girl *"I could make some twists to these parts and get ourselves moving, but I'm not sure how much is it going to last, half an hour, perhaps two full hours, there's no telling. The best would be to find a regular acid battery."*


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## airwalkrr (Nov 11, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 11:45 AM (17:45 GMT)*

Kyle manages to treat Aziz's cuts and scrapes, but removing the large shard of glass from his leg is going to require surgery. Otherwise, there is risk of arterial damage. Aziz is floating in an out of consciousness already from the loss of blood.

*****

Xavier can't seem to find any batteries in the back room of the grocery store that would be of the size needed to power a semi-truck.

OOC: A Knowledge (physical sciences) or Knowledge (technology) check might tell you where there is a nearby auto parts shop.


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## failedreality (Nov 11, 2009)

*"I'm OK, well I guess"* Tom says in a more stable tone.  He gazes up at the massive cloud swallowing up the sky.  Tom returns focus back to this guy, *"Who are you? Are you OK?  What do we need to do now?"*  He spits out these questions in a flurry.  Tom is still thinking about food, shelter, and what the future is holding.


[sblock='airwalkrr']This* blue* is annoying can I try a *different shade*?[/sblock]


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 11, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 5/32*

After scouring the cargo bay area for anything usable, James nods at Kyle, *"James is fine, or Jay... best James."*  He finishes tossing the remaining goods into the truck bed and walks over toward the red toyota compact that Kyle indicated.  James shouts back to the group: *"Anyone want to try to get some more fuel for that thing?"*

[sblock=ooc] James will try to pop the trunk and hood; grabbing anything useful from the trunk, and pulling the battery out of the front to use to recharge the semi.   If getting into the car/hood/trunk requires a strength check of some kind, he'll just work at it until he gets it open: 1d20 = 3; 1d20 = 14.
Pulling the battery out: Repair (take 10) +1 = 11 [/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 11, 2009)

*"Porfavor don't brake anything will you?" *Shouts Francisco, who is already nervous. *"I'll handle the battery if you don't mind..."*

[sblock= Take our battery and general knowledge that might be useful.]K. Technology: 28
Repair: 35[/sblock]


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## Frozen Messiah (Nov 11, 2009)

*Terrence Cross 25/44*

*"My name is Terrence and i seem to be okay enough that I'm able to help you. We should try and find some more people that have their heads on straight, there is safety in numbers." *Terrence tells this man as he leads him of to the side so they are out of the way of the panicing people *"I've been in the military for some years so I know how to handle crisis all i ask is that you keep your head up, oh I never got your name."*


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## airwalkrr (Nov 12, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 11:50 AM (17:50 GMT)*

Kyle's truck is unfortunately on fire by the time you reach it. It is too hot to approach safely, as is most of the intersection. The fires could be burning for hours.

Francisco seems to hit on an idea though. He believes that any batteries that have not been hooked up to significant electrical systems should be fine. Hence, he recommends finding an auto parts store. Unfortunately, not being local, he is not sure where to find one. However, when he mentions an auto parts store, the man who earlier suggested the short wave radio butts in. "*I know where there's a Pep Boys just a mile away. I bet we could make it over there, grab us the batteries and get back here in a jiffy.*"


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 12, 2009)

*"Perfect. Lets go pronto"* says Francisco ready to move


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## failedreality (Nov 12, 2009)

*Tom Buckner 12/23*

_Military type huh, wow_,* "Terrance you say?"*  Tom reaches out to shake his hand, "Tom, Tom Buckner"  

*"Yeah I think you are correct, better in numbers"* _Hopefully his military training can help us out_

Tom does a quick scan to see what a real mess that is unfolding rather quickly.  *"Terrance I agree, lets find some more people and maybe a car so we can get out of this area"  *

Tom is just a PI but does have a solid brain inside his head and with a military fellow, we should be able to find something rather quickly.  *"Where do you think we should head?"*


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## airwalkrr (Nov 13, 2009)

"*I'll go with yas to show yas the way,*" the overweight man says. "*By the way, name's Harry. Harry Winkler. So that's me and Doctor Wonder here. Who else is coming?*"


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 13, 2009)

*"Doctor Quiroga if you don't mind" *says Francisco, looking at the fat man with a "¬¬" face


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 13, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 5/32*

James turns away from the flaming wreck in disappointment, and heads back toward the cargo port where the semi waits to be resurrected.  Upon hearing the man's suggestion to get to an auto parts store he interjects, motioning toward Kyle, *"I can come, if you give the Doc over here a second to look me over."*


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## Blackrat (Nov 13, 2009)

After having treated the kid and the girl Kyle turns back to the cop who has returned from Kyle's wrecked car. Yeah, yeah. Just give me a sec. That burn really looks bad. I'll clean it for now but you really need some more treatment once we get to safety.

OOC: Well, that didn't work out too good. HP regained for James... 1
1d4=1


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## Frozen Messiah (Nov 13, 2009)

*Terrence Cross 25/44*

*"we should try to get some supplies before hand and then start to get moving. I will go in and grab as much as possible and then come out. You should stay out here and begin looking for anybody who isn't in paniced, is that ok with you?" *Terrence askes Tom as he shakes his hand absent mindedly.


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## airwalkrr (Nov 13, 2009)

*Game Info*

[sblock=All Players]If you are going to split up, I will create a Beta group thread for everyone who is going to the auto parts store. So far that group consists of Francisco, James, and the NPC, Harry. By the way, feel free to accept NPC help when offered (unless you don't trust the individual). It won't take away from your XP.[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 13, 2009)

[sblock=Question]
Instead of creating another thread, which will generate confusions, imo, why don'y you use sblocks? It's easy this way, I ran a game for almos 4 month with 3 groups in sblocks, heh[/sblock]


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## failedreality (Nov 13, 2009)

*Tom Buckner 12/23*

*"Yeah take off and see what you can get.  I will start scanning the area." * after a quick pause, *"Just don't stay too long in case I find something."*

Tom watches Terrence take off and he starts to scan the surrounding area for any groups or small gatherings of people.


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## Dekana (Nov 14, 2009)

*Sophie Lin, 6/9 hp*

Sophie nods to Francisco, James, Harry, and anyone else who offers to travel to get the battery. She lifts herself from he sitting rest and says, *"I think it would be best if we all go as a group. Things might get a little crazy in all this chaos - violent even."*

[sblock=ooc]Don't split the party! It's always a bad idea. 
Tom and Terrance are still separate from the rest of the PCs, yes?[/sblock]


----------



## Voda Vosa (Nov 14, 2009)

*Francisco Quiroga 13/22*

*"Perhaps so, but what if we get the battery and someone broke the truck trying to make it start?"* The man seems to have hit a good idea, as his eyes widen slightly. *"What we could do is this: I'll make the truck work for a little time, enough to get us to that battery shop you say" *he points at the fat guy.* "There we can replace my assemblage with an actual working battery, if there's any working. Otherwise, we'll keep moving on the truck as far as my repairs can take us."*

_OOC: I think making the truck move there will save time, then we use the actual batteries. _


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## Frozen Messiah (Nov 14, 2009)

Terrence comes back with his cargo pants and a backpack full of stuff. He pulls the bag off and drops it beside Tom and kneels down going through all the stuff he grabbed. *"Anybody that look promising out there, I'm not particularly chosey either just anyone making any sort of progress?" *He askes Tom as he sorts thorough whta he grabbed.

[sblock]
Do I need to write down what I grabbed because it really is just random stuff that he thought might be of some use? (sorry that I haven't been able to write in backstory)

No me and Tom are not with the group but if you get that car started i beiliev that we will have reason to join
[/sblock]


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 14, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 6/32*

*"Best idea I've heard yet prof, let's make it happen."* James heads over to the cargo bay to do one final sweep before calling out to everyone, *"People! Soon as the professor here gets this thing hotwired, we're heading out.  Harry, Sophie, help me get this man up into the bed in the back."*  James moves over to the store clerk and begins to help him up.

[sblock=ooc]Sticking with the truck is the way to go, especially since we can probably get it moving for at least a mile.  Also, was anything useful turned up during any of the searches of the cargo bay?[/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Nov 14, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 11:55 AM (17:55 GMT)*

[sblock=Frozen Messiah]I will assume you grabbed a backpack inside the grocery store since you don't have one listed on your character sheet. And yes, you will need to indicate how much you were able to grab although you don't need to be detailed (e.g. you could just indicate canned goods as opposed to listing preserved peaches, canned green beans, etc.). There is a limit to how much your pack and pockets will hold. A backpack can carry 60 pounds of gear. I'll say your cargo pants can each carry 5 pounds of gear. If you grabbed nothing but canned goods, that would allow you to grab 140 cans (each weighs 1/2 lb.).[/sblock][sblock=Hob Marshmallowfoot]You are going to have to be specific on what you are searching the back room for. It is the the back room of a supermarket. There is everything from dry goods (flour, sugar, etc.) to canned goods to Christmas decorations. People are looting the back room too, and yes, the back room also appears to be out of bottled water. At least at a glance.[/sblock]

Terrence and Tom spot a group on the south side of the Eagle Foods supermarket marshaling around a delivery truck. They seem to have a modicum of order and common sense around them, unlike the mayhem that is plaguing almost everyone else in this panicked atmosphere.

*****

"*That's a damn good idea Professor Kweeroga,*" Harry says. "*Youse guys mind if I tag along? Youse seem to know what you're doing and everybody else seems to have lost their heads. Plus, ya need someone to show ya to the auto shop.*"


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 14, 2009)

*"Hey gordito, you can come along as far as I'm concerned. If your tip about the battery store you gave us get us a new battery, we'll be in debt with you."* replies Francisco *"Now, let me see those things..."* the academic gets his hands dirty into the truck, wiring and assembling a provisional source of power.
_
Repair: 1d20+16=25 ; 1d20+16=22_

Finishing up, he shuts the truck's trunk and sits at the wheel, after a few curses and hits to the console, the trucks seems to respond to the Argentinian crafts.


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## airwalkrr (Nov 14, 2009)

*Game Info*

[sblock=All Players]The truck is now jury-rigged, but it won't last forever. The only question is whether you want to hang around and stock up on foodstuffs before leaving. Hundreds of people are looting the supermarket and it is going to be empty soon anyway.[/sblock]


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## Dekana (Nov 16, 2009)

*Sophie Lin, 5/9 hp*

*"Woo!"* hollars Sophie when the truck's engine turns over. She smiles and lightly slaps Francisco on the shoulder. *"Great work; now if only we could drive this thing all the way to the farm - or really, anywhere but here. But, I guess we'd better hit the store first before your repairs fail."*

ooc: No objections to moving on. Also, will we all fit in the vehicle?


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## airwalkrr (Nov 16, 2009)

*Game Info*

[sblock=All Players]The cab will comfortably seat about a dozen people. There are only seatbelts for 4, but the crew quarters has plenty of space. This is the kind of truck that is meant for one or two people to be able to live out of. It has a mini-fridge and even a microwave oven in the back.[/sblock]


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## Blackrat (Nov 16, 2009)

*Kyle 3/9*

Kyle finishes patching up James and sits on the back of the truck. I never thought I'd say this but I think I need a smoke. He feels the truck tremble as it starts up. Whoa, you got it running. Nice work Francisco. Well, if we got all we need, I can patch up the rest on the way.


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 16, 2009)

Francisco chuckles to himslef.* "Yeap, but it wont last forever, we better get to that autopart shop, and pronto"* The physicist takes the wheel, but is uncertain where to go. *"You'll have to guide me Harry. Everybody get on, we are leaving for good."*


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## Willette (Nov 16, 2009)

"Well are we ready to go? If anyone needs food we should grab as much as we can real quick cause it looks like its moving fast.", says Xavier while looking over the scientist's handiwork on the truck.


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 16, 2009)

*"I can teach you to do that boy, I learned that from my father. Although it wasn't for the rigth purposes, I think it played nicely now." *says Francisco, pating the boy's head, with a side smile on his face.


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## failedreality (Nov 16, 2009)

*Tom Buckner 12/23*

Tom see's Terrence running out with a stuffed full pack.  *"Terrence you get everything you could carry?"*  After registering what Terrence asked him..   *"Terrence check this out"*  Tom points in the direction of the Eagle Foods Market.

*"Look, look, there is a group around some sort of delivery truck and it looks like they might know what they are doing.   Let get over there and check it out..  What do you think, shall we go?"*

Tom starts to pick himself up off of the ground with a new spring in his step tugging at Terrence not really waiting for answer in hopes he will agree...


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## Frozen Messiah (Nov 16, 2009)

Terrence is a little slow to react to what Tom says due to him going through a mental checklist of all of the things that he thought the should have on him. Terrence feels the tug on his shoulder and wakes up. *"Yes, that sounds like a plan." *Terrence replies as he stands up and slings his back pack over his shoulder and rushes over to those people, attempting to match Tom's stride but not expend any unessecary energy.


----------



## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 17, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 6/32*

*"That's great work there professor! Great work.  I think I'm with everyone when I say we should get moving here; forget the supplies for now..."*  James stops talking as he spots the two men approaching rapidly.  *"Looks like we have some newcomers here..."*


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 17, 2009)

*"Say we get them up? I think we should first see if they are locos o no." *Francisco says. *"Do you understand what I'm saying si? I'm about to have a crisis here and start speaking Español, I can't bare English much longer." * the doctor said that almost to himself, but laud enough to hear.


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## failedreality (Nov 19, 2009)

Tom stops short of this group that him and Terrence saw off in the distance.  With a hurried breath, *"What's going on here, what are you all doing?"*  as Tom hunches over and holds himself up with his arms on this knees.  He was in decent shape but given the recent events combined with an all out sprint, one can run out of breath.  

Tom looks around at the others waiting for some answers..


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 20, 2009)

Getting his head through the shattered window Francisco inquired *"And who whats to know?".* He stays silent for a few seconds and beofre neither of the two approaching men could answer. *"And more importantly, why dont you get out of my truck's way?"*


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## Frozen Messiah (Nov 20, 2009)

*Terrence 25/44*

*"Because we want to help you, My name is Terrence and this is Tom. We are both trained in the use of firearms and self-defence. I know that I am able to carry large loads and have done traning with special opps. teams in the military so I know how to be stealthy and resourcful. It's your choice if you want us with you, do you?" *Terrence says to the person who was sitting in the truck with a sternness that gave away his military bacground. Terrence was standing infront of the car directly at this point and was looking straight at him.


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 20, 2009)

*"Next time, open a speech like that, not like before." *stated the man and returned into the vehicle. *"They seem useful and sane. That's a lot to say in this moment, and we have places." *he comments to the cop.


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## Blackrat (Nov 20, 2009)

Hop in guys, there's still some room here in the back. Kyle shouts from the truck. Turning to the others he continues. I don't care who they are, they act civil and that's all that matter in times like this to me.


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## Willette (Nov 20, 2009)

As he herds Gadget into the back of the truck Xavier pauses for a moment and looks in the direction of the intersection, hanging his head for a moment, "Don't worry dad I'll protect her...".


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 21, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 6/32*

James takes a moment to look over the newcomers standing with one leg up on the running board.  After the others are done talking, he simply opens the passenger side door. 

*"Hop on in; we're all in this together.  One thing though: you say you know weapons, that's fine.  Just don't use them unless you have to.  A lot of folks are scared right now, and if we get into a situation, we try and talk our way through it first. "*

He then turns to Dr. Quirroga, *"Prof, I'm all kinds of ready to go... once everyone's in, I say step on it.  Harry, where we headed?"*


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## airwalkrr (Nov 21, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 12:05 PM (18:05 GMT)*

"*Okay, now you're gonna wanna turn left onto 143rd street here. Damn, there's a lotta crap in the way.*"

As you turn onto the thoroughfare, you can see it is littered with overturned vehicles and debris from nearby buildings. Road signs and street lights have been blown over by the force of the atomic winds. As you drive by, you see countless people in various stages of agony. Some of them are terribly wounded, others simply aghast at the destruction caused by the explosion. A few try to approach you as you are the only moving vehicle on the road, but you are getting a little cramped as it is with 9 people (Aziz and Harry included) and you know you would be of little help anyway.

"*Oh jeeze, this is tough. Everything looks so different. All the damage... Is ya speedometer workin'? Good, it is. Don't drive further than a mile. I know the next turn ain't further than a mile from here.*"

The driving is difficult. Debris and detritus covers the road. Your path is obscured in every direction and you are unable to drive faster than 30 miles per hour along any stretch. You pass by several turns until finally Harry yells, "*Stop! Stop! Stop! This is the one. Turn right here.*"

You turn and continue down the road. There are fewer vehicles along this road but the havoc is just as real. On one side of the road is a residential district and you can see numerous homes with roofs blown off or worse. Some people lay dead or dying on their lawns, clearly having attempted to crawl for help from their collapsed dwellings. Eventually, you arrive at your destination.

In addition to a dozen or so ruined vehicles lie what appear to be three enormous heads of men, face-down in the parking lot, an advertising gimmick for the auto shop. "*I never seen Manny, Moe and Jack lookin' so down,*" Harry grimly jokes as you pull into the parking lot.


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 21, 2009)

*"Very well, at least we are here! I though we'll never do. Fine, some of you come with me, the others stay at the truck." *Quiroga steps out of the truck with a jump.


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## Frozen Messiah (Nov 21, 2009)

During the trip Terrence was quiet and reserved nodding to to answer most questions. Once they got to the destination he jumped out and walked up to the man who seemed to be an intellectual. *"I'll come with you, I'll do some reacon and come back if everything seems ok."*


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## Dekana (Nov 21, 2009)

*"You don't mind if I come with, right? I can't just wait in the car like this...*" Not waiting for an answer, Sophie hops out onto her feat.


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## Frozen Messiah (Nov 21, 2009)

*Terrence 25/44*

*"No problem just follow my lead, if you don't mind." *Terrence says as he looks at her trying to figutre if she will slow him down or keep up.


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## failedreality (Nov 22, 2009)

*Tom Buckner 12/23*

Tom was thankful that they found the group and now have a vehicle that they are in.  Obliviously he really didn't know anyone except Terrence who he had just met, so he had to have some trust in these newly found friends.  

*"I will stay back at the truck and keep any eye on things.  Just hurry in case anyone gets a big idea and decides to take it."*


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## Willette (Nov 22, 2009)

"I'll come look for parts with you guys!", says Xavier. "Come on Gadget!"


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## airwalkrr (Nov 23, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 12:15 PM (18:15 GMT)*

[sblock=Voda Vosa, Dekana, Frozen Messiah, Willette aka Group Alpha]With the exception of the sign for Manny, Moe, and Jack and the occasional cracked window, this building looks like it is in relatively good shape. The worst damage seems to be on the north side where a few vehicles were flung into the wall. There is even a sign on the front door that says "Come in! We're open!" although there is no sign of anyone inside.

Inside it is dark and foreboding. The blackout caused by the EMP has made this place a haunting mixture of shadowy stacks of auto parts and the smell of rubber and oil emanates from within. How will you approach?[/sblock]

[sblock=failedreality, Hob Marshmallowfoot, Blackrat aka Group Beta]Back inside the truck, you watch as the others approach the store. Aziz is laying in the back on the bed, still unconscious but slightly moaning in pain. "*Say, youse a doctor right? Cantcha do anything else for 'im?*" Harry asks Kyle.[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 23, 2009)

[sblock=Store group]
Francisco peeks his head in and says *"Seems clear, vamos." *he says, waiting for the trained man to enter first. After all, all he knows about won't be of much use in a real combat, excepting his crossbow training. 
[/sblock]


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 24, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 6/32*

James turns from watching the others approach the store, *"Maybe you have something in that bag you can give him for the pain doc?"*

James gives the tall man in the cab a thoughtful look.  *"So Harry, what is it that you do... did... before this all happened?"*  Motioning around generally for emphasis, he turns to watch the group again, *"You from around Chicago?"*

[sblock=ooc]James is going to rely on that undercover cop intuition to try to get a feel for the whole situation here; Intuition = 19[/sblock]


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## failedreality (Nov 24, 2009)

*Tom Buckner 12/23*

As the others head off into the store, Tom just sits and watches the cloud and debris getting larger and bigger.  He still cannot believe what just happened here.   He was running all of these scenarios through his head and just couldn't figure out what would have triggered such an attack.

Tom gets out his laptop to try and check any internet sources he can but soon realizes that it's just not going to work. * "What a waste now.." * he mumbles to himself.


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## airwalkrr (Nov 24, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 12:17 PM (18:17 GMT)*

[sblock=Group Alpha]Francisco can see several aisles of tires, motor oil, cleaner fluid, motor tools and much, much more. Towards the back he sees a sign that indicates an aisle with car batteries.[/sblock]

[sblock=Hob Marshmallowfoot]James gets a bad feeling about the auto store. It is a little too quiet around here for what he has seen elsewhere. Sure, the store is off the main thoroughfare, but this building is in great shape compared to a lot of others he's seen. Where are the people?[/sblock]


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## Frozen Messiah (Nov 24, 2009)

*Terrence 25/44*

[sblock=Group Alpha]
Terrence slide in the door silently and moves through the shop slowly taking in all that he can before he comes back to the group. Terrence gets that familiar sense of being on edge with all of his sense focused on something. He also notices his hand drifted towards his knife hilt so he was ready at any time for someone or something.

Terrences actions:
Move Silently/Hide: 1d20+10=21, 1d20+10=18
Spot Check: 1d20=15
Listen Check: 1d20+10=20
[/sblock]


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## Blackrat (Nov 24, 2009)

No, not really. Kyle answers to Harry and James. Most of the meds I had were in my car and this young fella needs intensive care to recover. Nothing I can do here in the car. If we had an ambulance, then sure. He sighs and puts his head between his hands. Not to mention clean surgery eguipment. If we could get to one of the hospitals, I could probably find most that I need. I doubt many would consider scalpels and such high priority for looting, but I sure could use them.

[sblock=OOC]Hehe... Just as I was writing this there was a song about nuclear apocalypse on the radio [/sblock]


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## ThWatcher (Nov 24, 2009)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

[SBLOCK]<a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2319818/">Initial blast damage. (1d50+25=33)</a> 6 - (.33 + .25) x 6 = 2.52 = 3
[/SBLOCK]



She had been walking most of the day to get here.  There it was, the store from her dream.  The sign was wrong though.  It was supposed to be laying on the ground.  She went around the side of the store and saw the rest of the parking lot.  The parking lot was supposed to be a mess and a $20 bill is supposed to be at the curb in the snow.  Well, maybe one of the cars would crash into the sign and it would fall over and make the mess.  

She stood by the side of the building, watching.  After a little while, a man walks out of the store carrying a medium sized box.  He pulls his keys out of his pocket and a $20 bill falls to the ground.  He doesn't notice as he opens the door and places the box in his car.  He then goes around and get in the other side and drives off.

There it is, the $20 bill on the ground before the mess.  All she has to do is walk out and casually pick it up.  So she does.  But as she picks it up, there is a flash of light followed shortly by a very loud boom.  Then silence.  Then the 'storm'.  To her, that's the only thing she had to compare it to.  A storm like she'd never seen before.  It came up before she could run for the building and threw her against one of the cars in the parking lot.  When she looked up the 3 giant heads were flying toward her.  She screamed and closed her eyes.  

When she woke, the three heads were laying beside her and she was under a car.  Then she heard the big truck drive up and stop in the parking lot.  Men, and a woman, got out and went into the store.  Not trusting anyone, especially men, was how she had stayed free for all these months, so her first instinct was to be quiet and wait for them to leave.


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## Voda Vosa (Nov 24, 2009)

Francisco tries to point at the batteries section to the militar, jerking his head towards it. For him, keeping his head busy with this helped him not to go mad and break down.


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Nov 25, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 6/32*

James nods as Kyle is speaking, continuing to watch the automotive shop intently, when suddenly he stops moving and holds up his hand momentarily.  Looking from one side of the parking lot to another, he furrows his brow and begins to unzip his black duffel bag.  

*"Something... something ain't right here Doc..."*

He reaches into the bag, and a .44 mag Smith and Wesson from the bag emerges in his hand, along with a small box.  He pops open the cylinder and begins loading cartridges from the container, *"I didn't mention it before, but I work... worked... narcotics.  Undercover.  You get to relying a lot on your intuition, in my line of work.*  James snaps the cylinder closed and puts the box in his pocket.  

He looks at Kyle, *"Look at this lot, Doc.  There were a lot of people trying to get cars started back there at that intersection.  Wouldn't a few folks be poking around here by now?  I mean besides us..." *

James pops open the passenger side door, steps down on the running board, and sticks the magnum in the back of his belt. 

*"I'm going to have a look around here; make sure everything is kosher."*

With that, he hops to the ground and begins walking across the lot toward the side of the building.

[sblock] James is going to look around and see if he notices anything unusual, out of place, etc.  Also, what is the general layout of the parking lot and the building?  Is there a back/side entrance or alleyway or anything?  As a cop, he's obviously looking for any sign that there might be people trying to conceal their presence.  Listen/Spot = 25! Man, where were you where I was dodging flaming ethanol earlier  [/sblock]


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## failedreality (Nov 25, 2009)

*Tom Buckner 12/23*

Tom hears the truck door open and shut and was wondering what was going on.  After all he was just sitting in the back.  He sees someone from this new group walk past him and he was going to say something but he looked like he had something to accomplish..

*"I really wish they would all hurry up so we can get out of here, not that I have any where to go at this point.  I sure hope someone in this group does"* tom says in a low whisper to himself.


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## Blackrat (Nov 25, 2009)

*Kyle 3/9*

I can't just sit around. Kyle mumbles and drops out from the truck. He walks around the car, keeping an eye on the surroundings while James goes on to check on things. You ok? He asks the guy that they picked up.


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## failedreality (Nov 25, 2009)

As Tom continues to sit and watch the guy walk around the parking lot, he starts to fumble in hi bag of goods which most of the equipment will no longer work.  He catches a glimpse of someone walking around the back of the truck and he hears something.

*"I'm OK I guess" Tom pauses and looks down at the ground.  "I'm just trying to gather all the thoughts in my head about what just happened.  Or what is happening.   Oh I'm sorry I'm not being very professional.  Tom, Tom is the name."*


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## Blackrat (Nov 26, 2009)

*Kyle 3/9*

Yeah, I can get that. I'm Kyle. I'm kinda the resident doctor now, I guess. Kyle chuckles nervously. Care to look out for the car for a while? I'll see if I can find anything useful from these wrecks.

Kyle starts checking the cars that are most nearby, never straying more than few meters from the truck, trying to see if he can find more first aid kits and anything that seems that could be useful.

[sblock=OOC]Well, since I don't have search that would be just int modifier +2 for the roll? Kyle will keep close to the car so he won't check anything but the closest cars. Mainly trying to find first aid kits, but if anything interesting catches his eyes, he'll investigate.[/sblock]


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## failedreality (Nov 29, 2009)

*Tom Buckner 12/23*

*"Kyle you say.  Pleasure to meet you."*  Tom pulls out a note pad and quickly writes down some notes.  In his line of business it just comes natural.  Some people just don't get it...

Tom continues to site while he watches Kyle check out some cars.


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## airwalkrr (Dec 8, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 12:20 PM (18:20 GMT)*

[sblock=OOC]Sorry it took a while to reply. I'll be breaking up the update into several posts to try to keep the progression of events clear.[/sblock]Harry, replying to James: *"I was an assistant manager at the Eagle Foods store we just came from. Didn't think there was anything left to manage though if ya get my drift. Glad I found youse guys though. Everyone else seemed ta be losin' their heads."*


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## airwalkrr (Dec 8, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 12:21 PM (18:21 GMT)*

[sblock=Group Alpha]In response to Terrence: As Terrence moves carefully through the auto shop, glancing down the aisles, he notices a man in a blue shirt and khakis lying on the ground behind the counter. It looks like the man just fell over onto his stomach, but there are no readily apparent wounds or falling debris nearby.[/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Dec 8, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 12:22 PM (18:22 GMT)*

[sblock=Group Beta]The first thing James notices as he begins looking around is an overturned Nissan Altima that appears to have a little arm just barely in sight underneath it. If it belongs to a human, the arm would have to be that of a child.[/sblock][sblock=OOC]The arm belongs to Janice, who didn't hide herself as well as she hoped.[/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Dec 8, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 12:27 PM (18:27 GMT)*

[sblock=Group Beta]It takes Kyle ten minutes to scavenge the nearby vehicles. He finds one electronic part that might be salvageable as well as 5 gallons of gasoline (diesel), but no medicines or first aid kits. Kyle also stumbles across a little girl hiding under an overturned Nissan Altima.[/sblock]


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## Blackrat (Dec 8, 2009)

_Damn irresponsible little..._ Kyle's mumbling trails off as he hears rustling beneath the car he was checking. Peeking under and noticing the little girl he kneels down. Hey there?


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## ThWatcher (Dec 8, 2009)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Janice lays there as some of the men go into the store.  Others begin moving around the cars as though they're searching for something.  She knows it's too late to run.  They'll see her for sure.  

As a couple of men get close to the sign and car that she is under, she tries to move a little farther under to hide better.  It's then that she realizes her hands and feet are numb.  Even so, it hurts to move them and she makes an involuntary whimper.  (OOC: She's been laying here on the ground since the blast/blast storm.)

She hears the voice of one of the men on the other side of the car.  She turns her head to see in that direction and sees him looking at her.  There is blood drying or frozen, on her forehead and hair.  She hears the other man getting close to this side of the car.

She tries again to move but her limbs just don't want to move and they hurt.  She winces from the pain and this time she begins to cry.  Not the loud wailing you often hear at a playground but the crying of a child who's trying not to cry but can't seem to stop.

Through crying, you might be able to make out the words, *"Please, ... don't ... hurt ... me."*


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## Frozen Messiah (Dec 9, 2009)

*Terrence 25/44*

Terrence moves quietly towards the man with his knife out keeping watch of the man for any sudden movments. *"Sir, I want to know what your name is and why you are here. If you could give me some indetification or tell me where it is that would help considerably" *Terrence says to the man as he keeps his knife in reach.


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## Voda Vosa (Dec 9, 2009)

Francisco waits patiently for the soldier to report back, he looks over to Kyle and James, as they search a wrecked car.* "¿Cuanto más va a tardar?..." *he says, almost for himself.


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## airwalkrr (Dec 11, 2009)

[sblock=Group Alpha]As Terrance moves closer towards the man, he notices that the man looks pale and his lips are blue. Although he isn't certain, Terrence believes there is a fair chance the man is already dead, although there still appear to be no signs of how it happened.

As Terrence processes these thoughts, he suddenly catches a glimpse of a small shadow move quickly along the wall and hears a clanking sound behind an aisle for muffler parts and air filters across from the service counter. Those standing by the door hear the sound as well.[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Dec 11, 2009)

*"Que mier...? What was that? Hey militar guy, is everything bonito down there?" * shouts the scientist Francisco.


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## Blackrat (Dec 15, 2009)

Kyle looks at the girl curiously and squats down by the car. I'm not gonna hurt you. We're trying to find some parts for our car. There was something strange about the girl and the stuff she carried with her. Homeless kid maybe, Kyle thought. There was certain familiarity that he couldn't place his finger on. You know, little sister... Was that the right way to adress the feeling... It's not safe around here, where's your home?


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## airwalkrr (Dec 15, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 12:28 PM (18:28 GMT)*

[sblock=OOC]The group thing doesn't seem to be working. I'll post everything out in the open from now on.[/sblock]Terrence seems to be examining something behind the counter. Those with him try to make it out and catch sight of a human arm sticking out from behind the counter. He must be looking at a body.

Everyone in the parking lot notices the others waiting on Terrence to give the OK to proceed inside. Those moving into the building stop dead in their tracks at the sight of the body and the noise coming from within. The parking lot seems pretty devoid of activity. It would probably be safe to venture inside with the others, and from the looks of things, they might need it.

Harry promises to watch Aziz and the truck.


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Dec 15, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 6/32*

James notices Kyle kneeling by the car to examine the child and calls over to him,*"Is there someone hurt in there?" *  He keeps his eyes on the building however, still perturbed by the sense of foreboding he had in the truck.

*"I'm going to go have a look around back, just to make sure everything is clear."*  James then begins moving toward the back of the building, looking out for anything unusual.


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## Voda Vosa (Dec 15, 2009)

Fancisco peeks in with certain fear, waiting to see what happened.


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## ThWatcher (Dec 15, 2009)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*



Blackrat said:


> Kyle looks at the girl curiously and squats down by the car. I'm not gonna hurt you. We're trying to find some parts for our car. There was something strange about the girl and the stuff she carried with her. Homeless kid maybe, Kyle thought. There was certain familiarity that he couldn't place his finger on. You know, little sister... Was that the right way to adress the feeling... It's not safe around here, where's your home?




As Janice's movements and fear have pumper her heart a little faster, a little extra blood moves into limbs where it had almost stopped entirely.  Just enough extra blood to wake a few sleeping nerves.  The additional tingling and pain helped to encourage her to think that even an unknown man would be better than being stuck and in pain.  As she tries to control her crying, the quivering in her voice is more noticeably caused by being very cold.  She says *"I.. I c..can't get out.  M..my hands w.. won't w..work."*


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## Frozen Messiah (Dec 16, 2009)

*Terrence 25/44*

Terrence is annoyed by the sudden interuption but he understands it's now neccesaryto bring in the back up. He gets up and walks to the door opens it slightly and motions them to come inside witha wave of his hand then puts a finger to his mouth (to notify to stay quiet). As the rest of the group goes in Terrence looks at the man who yelled in, he then points over to the body and mthen points to his eye (to notify that he should look at him). Once he finishes with the man he goes to check out what the other noise was.


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## Blackrat (Dec 16, 2009)

Wait a second, I'll get you out. With that Kyle pulls the girl from under the car. He turns back to answer quickly for James. Yeah, there's a survivor here. And then again consentrates on the girl. You ok lil' sis'? You seem to have hit your head badly.


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## Voda Vosa (Dec 16, 2009)

The argentinian walks in, and watches where the militar pointed out. He remains stationary, trying to spot the bateries.


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## ThWatcher (Dec 16, 2009)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Feeling better at being out from under the car, Janice noticeably calms down.  She reaches up to her head again, where she can feel the throbbing pain, and flinches as her mitten touches the wound.  *"Yeah. I don't remember how.  But it doesn't hurt as much as my hands and feet do.  And I'm cold.  And tired."*  She begins to try to get up.  But with numb, none-functioning hands, feet, arms, and legs, she just stumbles back down before she can even get to her hands and knees.  She looks like she's about to start crying again.


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## Blackrat (Dec 17, 2009)

*Kyle 3/9*

Yeah, I can imagine. Come, we'll see if there's some blankets in the car. Kyle picks the girl up and starts carrying her to the truck. So where do you live? We could try to find your parents, though we are in a bit of a hurry. He points to the mushroom cloud slowly dissipating up. There was a big bomb downtown. That cloud is... poisonous and it will start raining back down tomorrow so we need to get far away from here. He has to pause for a moment to find the simpler words to tell a child what is going on.


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## ThWatcher (Dec 17, 2009)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

At the mention of blankets, Janice becomes a little happier.  Then she becomes a little apprehensive when Kyle picks her up.  When asked where she lives, she simply replies, *"Near here."* 

When asked about her parents, Janice falls back into the old routine of using sympathy to get hand-outs.  Through chattering teeth,  *"M..My p..parents are d..dead.  I..I live in a f..foster home with s..six other f..foster k..kids."*

At the mention of a 'big bomb', she tries to look in the direction indicated.  Upon hearing the rest of his statements, her apprehension shifts from Kyle to the poison.  *"P..P..Poison!  Shouldn't we get inside a b..building?  Ta get out of t..the poison r..rain?"*


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## Blackrat (Dec 17, 2009)

Having reached the truck Kyle lowers the girl to stand on the ground and kneels down to be face to face. Don't worry, the rain won't come until tomorrow. But to be honest, being inside will not help much. I don't understand much of it, but one of my friends says we need to get very far from here before the rain starts.

He then sighs. You know, judging by the stuff you carry around, I don't think you and your foster parents get along too well. We can probably take you to them if you want, but you can tag along with us too if you wish lil' sis'.


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## ThWatcher (Dec 17, 2009)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

As Kyle sets Janice down on her feet, she has trouble standing and grabs his arm for support.  Listening to him, she fidgets and doesn't look at Kyle.  She seems hesitant to talk at first.  But then she looks at Kyle and seems to have made a decision.  *"D..Don't take me back to them.  I w..won't stay with them.  T..They called me 'w..w..wicked' and hit me with a b..belt on m..my back.  If you t..take me b..back to them, I..I'll run away again."*


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## airwalkrr (Dec 19, 2009)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 12:30 PM (18:30 GMT)*

James dashes around to the back of the Pep Boys store and sees only more devastation. Fences have been blown away from the backyards of a residential area. A few cars lie overturned and completely wrecked. Some shingles and debris from a nearby house roof are scattered. There is a vehicle bay (for working on personal cars and trucks) with a Mercury Sable sedan and a Chevrolet Colorado pick-up truck inside the bay, apparently protected fairly well from the force of the A-bomb's winds by the solidly constructed walls around the bay. Around back is an emergency exit leading into the store as well as a door that says "Employees Only," which James assumes to be used for employees who had parked around back. There is no sign of anyone living however. An overturned SUV has an automotive technician inside who appears extremely wounded, with a terrible gash on his head and a pool of blood on the ceiling of the vehicle. He doesn't appear to be showing any signs of life.


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## airwalkrr (Dec 19, 2009)

Kyle places Janice inside the semi-truck with Harry and Aziz. Harry takes the young girl and grabs a flanel blanket from the back to wrap around her. She soon feels much warmer.


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## airwalkrr (Dec 19, 2009)

Francisco steps inside and comes alongside Terrance. He immediately notices the man on the ground behind the counter and can tell quite easily that the man does not appear to be breathing. Like Terrence, he sees no obvious cause of death. Other than a bit of debris that seems too light to have inflicted any serious harm, the inside of the auto-parts store seems like it survived the blast relatively intact. The man appears to have simply fallen over dead. His lips have already turned a bit blue and his posture indicates he was not hit by anything.

After he gets a quick look at the body, there is a second sound from within the store. A few aisles back from the previous sound, there are a number of boxes of air-filter that fall over. It is now clear that Terrence and Francisco are not alone.

The vehicle batteries appear to be on the back aisle, in plain view. They are two aisles beyond the aisle with the air filters.


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## Voda Vosa (Dec 20, 2009)

Francisco tries to make eye contact with the more experienced man in the "real danger" management before speaking. His face looks concerned and doubtful


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Dec 20, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 6/32*

James shakes his head, turns away from the wrecked SUV, and approaches the door marked _Employees Only_.  He cautiously tests the door handle, attempting to open the door narrowly, and quietly, to peek through into the back of the shop.


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## airwalkrr (Dec 21, 2009)

As James checks the handle on the door marked "Employees Only," he notices a keyhole inside the handle bar. Trying the handle, he finds it is indeed locked.


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## Frozen Messiah (Dec 21, 2009)

*Terrence 25/44*

Terrence moves toward the sound slowly and stealthly while giving the man the signal to wait. He moves around to the ending of the shelf and peeks around the corner to look down the aisle.

[sblock=Checks]
Invisible Castle is down could you do my rolls for my: Move Silently (+11), Hide (+11), Spot (+0), and Listen (+10)?
[/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Dec 22, 2009)

As Terrence quietly and carefully peeks around the 2nd to last aisle, he doesn't catch sight of anything in the dark shadows, but he does hear a faint scuffling.


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## Blackrat (Dec 22, 2009)

Hey, don't worry kiddo. I'm not going to force you back anywhere. You can come with us if you want. Kyle smiles and lifts the girl to the truck. So, what's your name? I'm Kyle.


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## ThWatcher (Dec 22, 2009)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Starting to feel less coldness attacking her body and hearing Kyle say that he wouldn't make her go back, Janice starts to worry less and relax a little.  *"I'm..m..m Janice."* She holds the blanket around her as best she can.


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## airwalkrr (Dec 22, 2009)

As Janice sits in the truck and begins to warm up, she suddenly begins to shake violently and uncontrollably. Kyle immediately notices that she appears to be suffering from a seizure. He quickly reaches for his medical kit to grab an anticonvulsant, but before he can react, the seizure is over. Janice lies there in his arms for a moment before slowly opening her eyes. Kyle pulls out a penlight to check her eyes for dilation, but she seems alright.

[sblock=ThWatcher only]As Janice seizes, her mind wanders as if detached from her body. She finds herself inside the auto parts store and looking over two men she does not recognize (OOC: Terrence and Francisco). All of a sudden she sees serrated claws leap from the shadows towards the man in front, then the vision is over.[/sblock]


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## ThWatcher (Dec 22, 2009)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

As the light flicks across Janice's eyes, she seems to wake up.  Shivering and fear play across her face as she says, *"Claws... Claws are jumping on a man in that store."*  She points to the auto store and her voice begins to get hysterical.  *"It's g..g...going to hurt him.  R.. run, run, run!"*  She starts trying to hide in the blanket.  *"G..get away!"*


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## Blackrat (Dec 23, 2009)

Relax kid, you had some seizure. Everything's fine now. Has this happened before? Kyle tries to calm the girl down. He turns to the guy he spoke with earlier. Tom, was it? Would you mind go checking what's keeping the others?


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## ThWatcher (Dec 23, 2009)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Janice, still shaking and whimpering, peeks out from under the blanket.  *"I..It allw..ways happens.....unless I ch...change it.  Howler at h..him t..to run aw..way." *She seems to be frantically thinking, fear and anguish playing across her face. * "N..No.  Don't howler.  It might come for you and me.  W..we have to r..r..run away."*  She starts to cry.


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Dec 28, 2009)

*James 6hp*

Turning from the door, James eyes the dead mechanic in the overturned vehicle pensively,*"Alright fella, looks like I'm going to have to ask you to give me a hand after all."*  James kneels by the car and reaches in through the window, searching the dash, glove compartment, and the mechanic's jumpsuit for the keys to the 'employees only' door. *"At least you won't try to overcharge me for this..."* 

[sblock=Search]Search check: 11[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Dec 28, 2009)

*Francisco Quiroga 13/22*

Francisco takes his crossbow and loads a bolt, not without some shaking in the process.

[sblock=Ministats]
*Francisco Quiroga*
*Stats*
Hit points: 22    Defense:  17      Fort:+5  Ref: +5  Will: +3         DT: 14
*Attacks*
Sword cane: +2 for 1d6 dmg (crit is 18-20)
Crossbow: +4 for 1d10 dmg (crit is 19-20. Range 40 ft)
[/sblock]


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## Frozen Messiah (Dec 28, 2009)

*Terrence 25/44*

Not wanting to be surpirised by whatever is around the corner Terrence picks up a small piece of debris that was on the ground beside him and throws it towards where he heard the shuffling noise to see if he could coasx a reaction to what is over there. "Probably just a cat, but better saffe than sorry." Terrence whispers to himself just before he tosses the debris.


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## airwalkrr (Dec 29, 2009)

As James digs around inside the vehicle he finds a key in the ignition, but it only seems to be for the vehicle. A little more digging around the cold body of the serviceman and he discovers a set of keys in his front jumpsuit pocket. There are about ten keys on the chain, all of the work or door variety (i.e. no car keys). One of them probably goes to the Employee entrance.

*****​
Francisco nocks his crossbow bolt and gets right up behind Terrence, who tosses a bit of ceiling tile towards the sound of the shuffling. Suddenly the two men are surprised by a wicked-looking creature that leaps out from the shadows. In general shape, it resembles a six-limbed canine--but there the resemblance ends. Its body is covered with armored plates of chitin and four of its limbs are like long, razor-sharp scythes. It holds two smaller claws close to its body. Its head combines the facial features of a predatory reptile with large, serrated mandibles. Large armored plates protect its neck and back. Small, veined wings like those of a dragonfly sprout from behind the plates.

As it leaps, it lashes out at Terrence with its front claws, slicing a neat tear on his shirt and causing a fleshwound on his chest (7 hp).

*Initiative*
22 - Tom
20 - Xavier
17 - Creature
14 - Janice
13 - Terrence
12 - James
4 - Francisco
2 - Kyle
[sblock=OOC]Since we have lots of players, post your intended actions for the next three rounds with rolls as appropriate. Feel free to post a back-up action or circumstantial action such as: withdraw from combat if my character falls below 5 hit points.[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Dec 29, 2009)

*"La put* madre!"* yells Francisco inmediatly, and pulls the trigger, letting a bolt fly to the creature. The bolt only manages to scratch it's chitinous plates. With impressive speed, Francisco loads again, takes 5 steps back and shots (Quick reload), this time, the bolt fly wide. Seeing that the creature would take advantage in close quarters, the scientists decides to retry outside the store, screaming *"Help!"*

[sblock=Actions]
1) Attack1: Crossbow: +4 for 1d10 dmg: 20 vs AC for 1 dmg
2) Attack2: Crossbow: +4 for 1d10 dmg: 9 vs AC for 8 dmg 
If the thing gets into melee before the next shot, use the sword cane instead. 
Attack3: Swordcane: 10 for 2 dmg
3) Move: Outside the store, and look for cover. [/sblock]


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## ThWatcher (Dec 30, 2009)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Janice is 11.  
She's had a blow to her head and body.
She's so cold she can hardly stand, much less fight or run. 
She's just had a minor(?) seizure.
She's scared stupid of what she saw in her vision.

The roleplayer in me says she should curl up in a ball and become catatonic.
The gamer in me wants to have her help the group somehow. 
[sblock=OOC]Here's a Flight or Fight (1d20=17) roll with no modifiers.[/sblock]

If she can't get a grip on her fear, she'll curl up in the blanket in the truck and catatonic-ly hope the creature goes away.

If she can get a grip on her fear, she'll try to peek out the window/door to see if she can do anything.  If the creature comes close enough, she may try to distract the creature while the others fight it.  (Distraction by bouncing some object around the creature's head.)
[sblock=DM]I'm really open to any suggestions.  This is the first time I've played a child.[/sblock]


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## Hob Marshmallowfoot (Dec 31, 2009)

*Sgt. James Matthews; 6/32*

James starts at the cries for help, swipes the keys, and runs for the back door, *"No time..."*  Pulling his revolver from his belt, he levels the barrel at the lock mechanism, turns his head slightly away, and squeezes off three rounds, each one emitting a deafening crack of air and metallic collision.  James then backs off a few steps, braces himself, and throws his shoulder into the door hard, yelling,  *"C'mon you sonofa!"*

[sblock=Strength check?]17[/sblock]


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## Blackrat (Dec 31, 2009)

Kyle starts to reassure Janice that it was just a bad dream and nothings going to happen to the guys inside... Except right then something happens inside. Peeking over the side of the truck his eyes widen in disbelief and he turns back to Janice. How did you... He lets the question trail off. It really wasn't the most important thing right now. Stay there. I need you to look after the boy. He says to Janice and points to Azis. He jumps down and looks for anything that could be used as a makeshift weapon to pass to the guys in the store. A real gun was unlikely to be lying around but maybe a piece of pipe or a tire iron.

[Sblock=OOC]I'm kinda useless in a fight, but Kyle starts by looking for anything that could make a weapon and then pass it on to whoever seems to need one. That'll take 2 or 3 turns I think[/sblock]


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## failedreality (Dec 31, 2009)

*Tom Buckner 12/23*

Tom had been casually sitting in the back of the truck and he continued to watch a couple of the people walk around the parking lot while the others were inside.  Tom was still in disbelief on what was all taking place. He thinks he heard someone talking to him but seemed to ignore it then he heard some yells and commotion from inside the store.  Tom moves around the truck to take a look inside through the front glass.  *"Holy Sh*t, what is going on in there."*

Tom moves closer to the front of the store to see what is going on and to lend a hand if necessary.

[sblock=ooc]Tom has no weapons except a dead camera and laptop.  Not sure he will do much damage just throwing them at the creature when it's within range.  
Possible actions:
1. Determine whats going on.
2&3. - Support the inside group any way possible.[/sblock]


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## ThWatcher (Dec 31, 2009)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Janice hears the fighting beginning and then remembers her own words, ['*It always happens unless I change it.*']  When Kyle says to take care of the boy, she glances at the other man(men) in the truck, one apparently wounded badly, and decides that she must do something to change what she believed would happen if she didn't help.

Kyle has stepped down and is looking around the parking lot.  Janice pushes the blanket back off of her, she begins climbing down from the truck.  As she starts toward the store, she glances around for anything that she can use.  It dawns on her that there is plenty of stuff in the store.

She start moving to a position where she can hide while still looking into the store.  It must be at the edge of the store, a half wall with windows she can look over or a wall where she can look around the edge and into the store.

[sblock=DM]I realize this may take more than one round to get there.  Let me know when I am there and can begin my next actions.[/sblock]

Rnd 1: Listen to Kyle and make up mind.
Rnd 2: Climb down from the truck.  Maybe move a short distants.
Rnd 3: Move rest of way to building, look inside, and try to locate something to manipulate.


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## Frozen Messiah (Jan 2, 2010)

*Terrence 25/44*

Terrence thinks quickly and moves over to the side of the aisle and attempted to push it over

[sblock=actions]
round 1: Strenght Check: 1d20+5=21

round 2: ready an action to attack the creature

round 3: if people are injured move to defend

[/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Jan 4, 2010)

Tom hops out of the truck and dashes inside the store to see what is the matter. As he steps inside, he sees Terrence and Francisco trying to fight off a shadowy beast. Thinking fast, he grabs an emergency butane lantern from the shelf and a butane container, igniting the lantern and shedding light on their opponent.

Janice follows shortly after Tom, hoping out of the truck and making her way furtively inside the store. At one of the aisles, she nabs a bottle of cleaning fluid and chucks it at the monster, hoping to distract it (-2 on next attack). She then grabs a hood ornament and tosses it as well (-2 to AC from next attack).

Xavier keeps an eye on the truck with Harry and makes sure there is nothing coming at the group from anywhere else.

The creature presses the attack against Terrence, slashing at him with its sharp, deadly forearms, seeking to rend him limb from limb. He ducks and dodges out of the way as best he can but zigs where he should have zagged and winds up being jabbed in the chest (8 points) followed by a nasty slice on his thigh (7 points). As he darts to the side of the aisle to shove it on top of the creature, Francisco lets loose with a bolt from his crossbow nicking the creature on its armored plates leaving a bit of green liquid spilling from the small wound (1 point).

A section of the aisle falls over on top of the beast, burying it underneath a pile of oil canisters and hubcaps (7 points and prone). It struggles for a moment to get up, then leaps after Terrence, who has moved to intercept it with his knife. His blade slides harmlessly off the chitinous shell as the creature's razor-sharp leg draws a minor cut on his left arm (2 points).

The sound of gunshots outside momentarily distracts the combatants as the rear door sparks. Soon after, James drives through shoulder first into the back of the store to see the carnage that is taking place.

Kyle rushes through the parking lot, stopping along the way to snatch a tire iron (improvised weapon, 1d6) from a smashed and overturned vehicle. Once inside he hands it to Tom, who seems a bit stronger than he is.

Terrence continues to hack at the beast with his knife, looking for an open spot between it chitinous armor, but his next jab is poorly placed, and the beast knocks his blade to the side with one foreleg while piercing his side with the other (6 points).

Francisco, realizing Terrence is in serious trouble, moves quickly to support him with his sword cane, trying desperately, but to little avail, to jab at the beast. James, seeing an opening, levels his revolver at the creature and fires off a shot that strikes true, puncturing the creature at the side and causing a spray of green liquid to pour forth (7 points).

[sblock=OOC] Next three rounds of actions. Please roll attacks/skills/etc. along with one "just in case" d20 for each round and include it with your actions at the end of your post.

22 - Tom
20 - Xavier
18 - Terrence
17 - Creature
14 - Janice
12 - James
4 - Francisco
2 - Kyle[/sblock]


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## ThWatcher (Jan 4, 2010)

Janice tries to stay at least partially hidden.  From there she continues to watch the fight, apparently with extreme interest.

[sblock=DM] Janice takes a breath and begins to concentrate on her original intentions.  She looks at an oil canister from the pile beneath beast.  It, the oil canister, begins to move up and bounce around the head of the creature.  It will continue to bounce around the creature's head.  

If knocked away, it will return to continue harassing the creature.

If the canister is punctured and begins to leak oil, it will move to just above the creature's head to leak the oil on it's head and eyes.

If the canister is grabbed, Janice will try for a round to pull it out of the creature's claws and return it to harassing the creature.

To be used as needed  (1d20=6, 1d20=12, 1d20=11, 1d20=13)[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Jan 9, 2010)

Francisco tries to attack the creature with a quick stroke, but fails as the creature leaps out of the sword's way. He begins to catch up the movements of the beast, analyzing it's weak spots. After a successful hit, Francisco knows exactly how to hit the beast, and connects a full lash at the beast. 

[sblock=Actions and rolls]
Exploit weakness 1: 7 miss 
Sword cane attack 1: miss
Exploit weakness 2: 9 miss
Sword Cane attack 2: 17 vs AC for 2 dmg
Exploit weakness 3: 24 success! Using Intelligence instead of other ability to hit the monster until the end of combat. 
Sword cane 3: 24 for 4 dmg[/sblock]


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## Blackrat (Jan 11, 2010)

*Kyle 3/9*

Kyle stays back, not knowing what to do. He tries to harass the beast by throwing some junk at it but that doesn't work too well. If anyone gets too roughed up, Kyle pulls them out and start patching them up.

[sblock=OOC]Well, Kyle will grab something hard and use it as an improvised throwing weapon  With these rolls, he's unlikely to hit the thing though. If needed, he'll try to heal those who are hurt.1d20=2, 1d20=10, 1d20=14, 1d20=7[/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Jan 12, 2010)

[sblock=OOC]Well, that's three of you. Not counting Willette that's half the group. I'll give the rest of you 48 hours to post before I do the next update.[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Jan 12, 2010)

_ Absence alert: I'm taking a few days of vacation from the first time since like 2 years, so I'll be away until the 19 of january._


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## Frozen Messiah (Jan 14, 2010)

*Terrence 2/44*

Terrence can hear his teeth grinding together to stop him from screaming. He now believes that he is seeing things because there seems to be a floating gas canister infront of the beast, then that gives him an idea. Terrence cuts the gas tank open and it begins pouring out onto the beast and the floor. After that he moves back towards the door then he goes into a defensive stance. *"Does anybody have a light?" *Terrence says in questioning to everyone.

[sblock=Actions]
-Cuts open gas tank
-5-foot step backwards
-total defence action
sry, I didn't reply sooner school was getting pretty hectic
[/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Jan 18, 2010)

Tom hangs back, throwing things at the creature to try to distract it. (+2 to hit creature on rounds 2 and 3.)

Xavier continues to watch the truck.

Terrence uses caution while engaged with the creature. But just as it is about to leap for him, a bullet strikes it square. James managed to score a crack shot (8 points), which angers the creature. It turns its attention to James and begins to slash at him furiously, but he ducks and dodges, managing to come out with only a minor scrape in the process (2 points).

As Francisco attempts to distract it with his sword, Terrence sees a unique opportunity. Seeing an oil can floating over the creature's head, he seizes the moment, strange though it may be. He slashes the container with his knife, causing oil to pour all over the creature, temporarily blinding it. He then pulls back from the action, clearly wounded quite badly, but his heroism may have made the difference.

While Kyle assists with Terrence's wounds, Tom tosses the butane lantern on top of the creature. The lantern sunders as it strikes the creature's hard chitinous shell, igniting the oil and spreading flame rapidly across the beast's head and upper body. As it thrashes about furiously trying to douse the flames and releasing bone-chilling shrieks of pain and frustration, Francisco sees a window of opportunity open up and dives in with his sword for the coup de grace. As he runs the creature through, it lets out a harrowing cry before falling to the floor a charred husk.

You nightmarish encounter is finally over. Kyle tends to Terrence's wounds and once he has him bandaged up, looks to James' cut. (Kyle may restore both with 1d4 hit points by treating them with his medical kit.)


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## ThWatcher (Jan 19, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

As the creature falls silent, Janice absently rubs at her temple.  She stops looking around the edge of the display that had mostly hidden her from the creature and sits down.    Her slightly labored breathing slows to normal after a little while and she listens to the men here as they talk about the creature, where it came from, and what they need to do now.


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## Voda Vosa (Jan 20, 2010)

Francisco cleans his sword with a cloth and sheathed it. He watches around to see how was everyone. *"Terrance, that was the most brave thing I've seen."* Francisco kneels next to the creature and tries to examine it, and determine what the hell was it.


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## Frozen Messiah (Jan 20, 2010)

Terrence puts away his knife then wavers for a moment then falls to the ground. He remebers the time when his old comrade, Jack Liteger, was shot through his hand and jack didn't scream he just looked at the wound and tears roled down his eyes, but he didn't scream.
Terrence shakes his head to get himself out of the his day dream as he he is being cared for. *"Thank you very much, I owe you one." *Terrence says to Kyle giving him a small nod *"You guys did pretty well there for civilians there may be hope for you guys yet."*


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## airwalkrr (Jan 20, 2010)

Francisco examines the monster carefully, but it is unlike anything he has ever seen before in his life. If one were to combine a praying mantis, a wolf and a rhinoceros, then add razor sharp forearms, one might get something vaguely reminiscent of the thing. Some bizarre genetic experiment perhaps? All he can really do is theorize.

From cleaning off his sword he notices that the creature's blood is composed of a thick, black ichor. He's never seen anything like it, even in an insect, which the creature closely resembles (size notwithstanding). Even with all of his education, he has no explanation for where the thing came from.


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## failedreality (Jan 20, 2010)

*Tom Buckner 12/23*

Tom stammers back against the wall.  He uses it to hold himself up as he cannot believe what just happened.  It was all like a flash.  He stumbles out of the store and grabs a spot of cement on the curb to sit down on and relax while the others are going about doing what they are doing.  Tom continues to replay the events that have just happened in his mind still believing, or wishing for that fact that this is just all a dream.  

Tom continues to rest until the group is ready to make it's next move or help is needed.


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## Voda Vosa (Jan 20, 2010)

Francisco stands up, throws the piece od cloth away, and walks to the others. *"I'm afraid I can't get any light over that thing, I'm no biologist but the thing is nothing like I've ever seen, nor think it's possible for a natural earth thing. I'm not sure it could be product of the explosion, since radiation doens't work that fast genereating mutations. The best we can do is grab that battery and get the hell out of here, rapido."*


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## ThWatcher (Jan 21, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

When Janice hears Francisco mention getting a battery and leaving, it occurs to her that she should also get what she can before leaving.  She begins looking around for things she thinks she could use.


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## Blackrat (Jan 21, 2010)

Kyle stands there for a while, his mouth hanging wide with disbelief. Nevermind the weird beast, the floating canister was much more intrigueing. Seeing Janice rubbing her head makes him suspicious about the cause, but he leaves it at that for a moment as there are people needing attention. He starts patching the two most hurt, but being disturbed by his thoughts he's not doing too well.

1d4=1, 1d4=1


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## airwalkrr (Jan 22, 2010)

As your group looks around for things that could be useful, they find the shop in relatively good condition. It looks like its solid construction and distance from the blast protected the interior fairly well. (The place hasn't been heavily looted yet, so you can still find whatever you would expect to find in an auto-parts store. They have spare tires, engine parts, emergency flares, reflective jackets, mechanical tools, and so on.)

You also notice something unusual about the charred creature on the floor. A glint of something metal reflects from the few flickers of fire from the burning oil that remains. The metal object is wrapped around the creature's front-left foreleg. It is something like a thick, rounded ring made of a bluish metal.


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## Voda Vosa (Jan 22, 2010)

Francisco takes all the things he can carry, spare tires, engine parts, more than two batteries, tools... If he can't carry all, he'll ask the more stout men to help him out. He'll install the new battery as soon as possible and load the goods in the trunk.
*"Someone look at that as I install the battery please."* Francisco points at the blue ring distractedly as he goes tumbling loaded with stuff


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## Frozen Messiah (Jan 22, 2010)

Terrence inspects the creature that so greiviously wounded him. He looks at the metal ring, he moves to the back of the shop to rty to find some thick gloves so he will not get burnt by the heated metal. as he goes to the back he finds the gloves and a thick coat. He qiuckly puts on both then goes out to get the metal ring off the thing. Terrence grabs the ring and pulls it off of the talon. *"Well look at that..." *He mutters to himself in thought.


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## airwalkrr (Feb 1, 2010)

*Day 0, November 3rd, 2020, Approx. 1:05 PM (19:05 GMT)*

Francisco loads up the truck with a tool box, as well as some more specific auto-working tools in case it is necessary to fix up the truck at some point. He loads up a couple of massive spare tires for the semi-truck, even though there are already a couple mounted to the sides of the truck. It can never hurt to be too prepared. Installing the batteries is not that difficult and takes about a half an hour.

As Terrence slowly removes the blue band from the creature, he begins to feel a tingling sensation spread from his hands to his arms and then the rest of the body. The object is clearly more than it seems, but Terrence is uncertain what to make of it. As he holds the object in his gloved hands, he hears a faint hum begin to reverberate about him, but before he can do anything, the hum fades into silence.


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## Voda Vosa (Feb 1, 2010)

The suoth american closes the truck, and gets in the driver seat. *"Alright people. The truck is ready to go, we should get on our way rapidito."*


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## Frozen Messiah (Feb 1, 2010)

Terrence quickly pockets the ring and moves outside. He thinks the ring poses no obvious danger but it's bettter to be safe than sorry. he moves outside and into the truck as he goes into the truck he gives the south american a quick nod. "Let's get the hell out of here people," Terrence shouts out of the car to try to quicken the process of getting in the car and out of this little piece of hell and then he notices the young girl "where did she come from?".


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## Blackrat (Feb 1, 2010)

Ah, everyone, this is Janice. She'll be joining us. Kyle answers Terrence sounding a little like a big brother, protecting his sister. I think we should do as Francisco says then.


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## ThWatcher (Feb 1, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Janice looks for one of those refrigerators that is used to display cold sodas, juice, water, and/or snacks for customers to buy.  If found, she raids it for all she can.  If it is a bottled drink dispenser, she tries to raid the cash register for coins to use in the machine.

She also looks for batteries and flash lights.

When it comes time to leave, she walks back to the truck and climbs in.

When Terrence asks about Janice, she smiles at him and continues.


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## Voda Vosa (Feb 1, 2010)

*"Hello there bonita, good we were here to find you. Were are your parents?" *asks Francisco, looking back from the front to Janice.


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## ThWatcher (Feb 1, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Answering Francisco, Janice says in an indifferent voice.  *"Don't have any.  Don't know what happened to them.  No one will tell me or they say they don't know."*


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## airwalkrr (Mar 5, 2010)

*Day 1, November 4th, 2020, Approx. 5:10 AM (11:10 GMT)*

Leaving the disaster situation at the auto parts store behind you, you pile into the semi-trailer truck and drive off. You are not entirely certain of where you will be going, but out of town seems like the best idea.

As you pull out into the street, you are met with a veritable flock of survivors. Some of them try to jump onto the truck with little success. Others even try to fling themselves in front of you, either to get you to stop, or possibly just because they wish to end their lives. Thankfully you manage to avoid putting anyone's death on your conscience and make your way safely to the edge of town, but not without a bit of rough going. Several times you are forced to stop to remove debris from the road, some of it quite sizable. At these points it often becomes tense as onlookers beg for you to allow them to go with you, but the truck is simply overloaded as it is. Much as you might like to show these unfortunates charity, there just isn't room. Sometimes you allow people to ride along by holding on to the side but these few don't last long. Most jump off after twenty or thirty minutes.

As you reach the edge of town, Xavier reminds you that his family's farm is perhaps a good place to hole up as they have stocked many provisions and it is clearly outside the blast radius. However you are also harrowed by another horrifying sight. James is the first to notice it in the gleaming twilight. Another mushroom cloud off to the east. It is quite smaller, but by the look of things it has had some time to disperse; it likely formed around the same time as the Chicago cloud. Terrence muses that it must be right over Gary, Indiana. A sudden sense of impending dread falls over everyone as you look out the left window. This wasn't just an isolated incident in Chicago. All of the Midwest, possibly the entire country is under attack! Who knows how many cities have been affected?

Traffic quickly becomes unbearable as you head south down I-57. It is apparent that everyone with a vehicle is moving as far away from the blast as possible. A general panic seems to have overtaken much of the populace. You see old jalopies careening down the shoulder of the highway alongside bicycles and even skateboards. Countless others walk down the side of the highway carrying whatever belongings they can hold. You talk with a few folks and some hold out hope that Champaign, Illinois is intact with electricity and running water and that shelters are being set up. No one seems to have conclusive evidence of this, though. It seems like many are running on blind hope alone. Even the state troopers and other emergency personnel who try desperately to keep a semblance of order along the roads don't seem to know much. One officer even admits that there has been no radio chatter from Champaign whatsoever.

All the radio stations on the dial are dead. Those in the passenger's seat scan through them countless times, never giving up hope that one of them might bear news of what exactly has transpired. But the hours spent attempting to find a radio signal bring nothing, until finally, around 9 pm, you receive a faint signal from WONU 89.7 FM. You listen intently but all you can make out are occasional words and phrases. Of particular note is the broadcast, *"There *static* been an *static* on all *static* ...tral Illinois. Shel... *static* in Olivet Naz... *static* ...versity for the *static* ...gees fleeing fr... *static* ...ted cities. We wi... *static* ...p you updated as *static* ...ws. Again, *static* seems to ha... *static* nuclear attack on *static* ...jor metropol... *statics* Illinois. Shelters *static* set up *static* University for *static* ...possessed refug... *static* cities."*

Most of the rest that you hear is indecipherable. None of you are capable of understanding exactly what is going on from this piecemeal broadcast, but the phrase *"nuclear attack"* causes the hair on the back of your neck to stand on end. You hear no other broadcasts for the rest of the night.

Around midnight, you begin to have engine trouble. The truck stops several times and while you are able to get it going again with much turning of the keys, it quickly dies again each time after a few seconds. If the gas gauge wasn't telling you that you had at least a third of a tank of gas left, you would think that the truck was out of fuel. But at this time of night in this poor light, there is barely anything you can do. You resolve to check the engine in the morning.

Some of you refuse to wait however, and decide to carry forward on foot. Xavier manages to convince a number of your party to follow him back to his farm. He leaves those of you who stay behind with directions and wishes you all good luck. In all, only Terrance, Francisco, Janice, Kyle, Harry, and Aziz remain. Aziz seems to have stabilized, but he is in no condition to be moved. His condition is part of the reason Kyle chose to remain behind. Francisco was one of the few who had any idea how engines worked. The rest didn't want to leave the others alone.

You settle in for a long night on the side of the highway, hoping that tomorrow will bring better things.

[sblock=Janice]Your dreams are tormented this night. You see a circular object, shimmering blue and glowing with an otherworldly radiance. It's very presence seems to make you unsettled and you sense that there is something very unnatural about it, almost as if it knew what you were thinking. _Just a simple ring_, you keep reminding yourself, but the object will not let you be. You are suddenly roused around 5 am by a frightening event when the ring morphs into a giant maw filled with jagged teeth that seems to lunge for you. You awake in a cold sweat breathing heavily. The road is still noisome with vehicles and travelers passing by you in all directions. You look over to Terrence who is sleeping peacefully in the passenger seat. The ring he took from creature. It is somehow alive![/sblock]


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## ThWatcher (Mar 5, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

The noise of people and vehicles moving on the road penetrates the cold cab of the vehicle she was sleeping in.  One can still see their breath, even with several people producing heat in the enclosure.  In spite of the cold, Janice awakens in a cold sweat and breathing heavily.  

Janice reaches out to whoever is next to her.  She pokes at first but that soon, a couple of seconds, turns into shoving and shaking.  As people wake up, she will begin saying quietly, *"The round thing from the creature, it's going to attack us.  We have to kill it."*  If they don't hear her, understand her, or don't believe her, she will repeat it louder.  And, if necessary, a third time, this time pointing toward Terrence.

[sblock=ooc]If the ring is already moving or changing, or it begins moving or changing, Janice will, using her mind, 'push' it away from herself and/or away from anyone in the truck.[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Mar 5, 2010)

Francisco grumbles, but is finally awaken by the girl's second shout. *"What is ist? What thing?"* the scientist scratches his head confusedly.


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## Frozen Messiah (Mar 5, 2010)

"Woah, there there," Terrence says calmly as he tries to understand what she was talking about "slow down what you are saying, explain it clearly, than we will see what we can do. It was probably a bad dream but speak it out, that sometimes help me when I have nightmares" Terrence continues. He sits there rembering some of his recurring dreams of close friends in the army getting killed right beside him and their blood splattering on to him.


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## ThWatcher (Mar 6, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Janice tries to calm down but still won't take her eyes off of Terrence.  *"It's a bad thing, evil.  It changed into a big mouth with pointy teeth and then it jumped at me, trying to eat me." * 

She takes a breath and continues.  *"My dreams become real.  Not always exactly as I dream them, but they do happen.  That thing is bad and it will try to hurt me or you or maybe all of us."*


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## Voda Vosa (Mar 6, 2010)

*"What thing little one?"* asks Francisco, still with his eyes closed, scratching his head and frowning. Wakening up so suddenly always gave him headaches.


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## ThWatcher (Mar 6, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

*"The round thing they took off the bad beast that we killed yesterday" *


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## Frozen Messiah (Mar 7, 2010)

"Wait," Terrence pulls the ring off of his arm and shows it to her, "Are you talking about this, I have no idea what it does. You know what you might be right, I wil store it somewhere else where it can't hurt us, ok?"


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## ThWatcher (Mar 8, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Janice continues to watch in fear and horror as though she expected the ring to jump out of his hand and begin attacking.


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## Blackrat (Mar 9, 2010)

Go back to sleep lil' sis'. Kyle tries to calm Janice. You can sleep a few more hours. He looks at the ring thingy and nods. Yeah, better secure that. There seems to be something amazing about Jan's gift. I'm inclined to believe her. Remember the floating canister?

Well, it's almost morning. Want to work on the engine Francisco? I can keep watch for the rest of the night.


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## Voda Vosa (Mar 9, 2010)

*"I'm already awake amigo, so... lets get to work"* says the physicist, rubbing his head and streching his arms before getting up and out of the truck. With his half open eyes he lift the trunck and watches inside, frowning. *"I'm blind like a littel topo."* He says before rubbing his eyes and looking inside again, to see if he can make something out.

Repair: +16
Craft Mechanics: +12
Knwldg(Tech): +12


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## ThWatcher (Mar 9, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Janice continues to watch Terrence and the ring as he tries to find some place to secure it.


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## Frozen Messiah (Mar 9, 2010)

Terrence gets out of the car and goes to the back of it and puts it in the trunk under some stuff back there. After he finished he looked annoyingly at the place where it was hidden. "Civillians, they can't seem to deal with nightmares properly. Oh well that is waht you are here for I geuss." Terrence whispers to himself under his breath as he walks along side of the car. "So Doc, I am going to do a quick little bit of scouting around the area, gonna see if there is anything useful around." Terrence pauses and looks over at the people in the car, "Anybody want to come with?"


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## ThWatcher (Mar 21, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Janice watches Terrence milling around outside for a while and wonders if she should get out and try to convince him that she is not crazy.


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## ThWatcher (Mar 29, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Janice sits there stewing for a little while longer and then decides that she is going to tell him that he better listen to her if he wants to know what is going to happen.  After all, it's because of her that there was extra help in the car store to kill the monster.  And she even......


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## ThWatcher (Apr 5, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Janice get out of the truck and storms after Terrence.


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## Frozen Messiah (Apr 5, 2010)

Terrence can see Janice walking over to him and he stops for and waits for her to come to him, he has never had to deal with children before and this is turning out to be a drash course on the matter. "Something wrong, other than what you have already have told me. I'm going to be doing some scouting... looking around the place to see if there is anything important. You should stay with the rest of the group I will come back in a bit, ok." Terrence says unkowingly condescending to her as she walks up towards him.


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## airwalkrr (Apr 24, 2010)

*Day 1, November 4th, 2020, Approx. 5:35 AM (11:35 GMT)*

As Terrence finishes speaking, he suddenly becomes very woozy. His vision blurs and he has a hard time finding balance. Janice notices this and it begins to worry here, especially when Terrence's condition seems to worsen by the moment.

Meanwhile, Francisco is hard at work trying to see if he can figure out what made the engine up and stop. It seems to be some kind of electrical problem, but with the poor light it is difficult to tell. He begins to think he should wait a while for the sun to come out. That is when he is overcome by a sudden dizzying sensation. It hits him right out of the blue and he grasps the rigging of the truck to steady himself.

Kyle tries to rest inside the cab, keeping an eye on Aziz while Harry snoozes on. Neither seemed to have awakened from the ruckus caused by Janice's nightmare. As he peers out into the early morning sky, Kyle finds that his vision is limited. Morning fog perhaps? That is when he looks down at his hands to see they are just as blurry as the outside sky. Something is happening to him.

As Janice looks on, horrified, the world begins to twist around her, like it is all a swirling vortex. She sees Terrence fall to the ground, though he tries to hold himself up with one arm. She looks at the truck and sees Kyle slumped over inside. Francisco too seems to have fallen into a stupor and hangs over the side of the rigging. As a sense of overwhelming fear and anxiety rushes over her, the world before her continues to twist and contort until suddenly it stops.

Terrence comes to, one hand on the ground, the other grasping his stomach. His vision finally begins to correct itself and he feels steady again. Francisco and Kyle likewise feel themselves returning to normal. Was it all a dream? Janice alone knows it is not.

The cab sits alone in a bizarre and alien landscape. Nearby, a tall writhing thing that somewhat resembles a tree with tentacular branches wavers in the chill breeze that blows through the air. The sky is a mauve red color with two suns, one rather small and not very bright, and a second burning deep crimson in the sky. The ground is lifeless and dull, covered with a dark black loamy soil. Apart from the tentacle tree, there is no sign of any kind of vegetation. There is nothing to see for miles around. All the cars that once surrounded you, the highway, the countryside, the clouds of dirt and smoke from the explosions, all of it is gone, replaced by this strange world.


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## ThWatcher (Apr 24, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Janice looks around the landscape.  *"This is the strangest dream yet."*  She stumbles over to Terrence and grabs his face.  Pulling it to look at her, she says, *"What's happening here.  What does this all mean?  No, I don't have time for you to ask questions.  This is my dream and I'll wake up soon.  Just tell me what this all means so I can help myself and my friends when I wake up."*


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## Voda Vosa (Apr 24, 2010)

The scientist is overwhelmed by the sudden changes. Could the atomic  fall have caught them? Was that the strange weakening feeling he felt moments ago? Was he dead? Was he delirious, as radiation infiltrated his brain? What the hell happened with all around him? The truck was still there, and he could hear the voice of the little girl, so apparently at least she was there. Would this be hell? Francisco never thought anything of that religious crap was truth, he mocked all of that as irrational and stupid, but suddenly his ideals turned upside down. What was that strange creature? And the two suns, what was the meaning of that? Full of questions, the latin physicist stumbled to the truck, and tried to open the door to peak inside.


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## Frozen Messiah (Apr 24, 2010)

Terrence takes a step forward and bends over and vomits of to his side. Terrence understands at that point that he needs to get back to the car. "Come on Terrence," He says to himslef as he stumbles towards the car, "Come on Terrence, you have dealt with worse than this. You had a damned bullet through your leg once and you made it back to the medic tent. Damn it man get moving."


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## airwalkrr (Apr 27, 2010)

*Day 1, November 4th, 2020, Approx. 5:40 AM (11:40 GMT)*

The alien landscape seems to shudder for a moment. You feel a faint rumbling, like tremors along the ground and even in the air itself. No sooner have you gained your bearings than the world seems to shift and distort itself once again. You are all overcome with vertigo once again (save Janice, who seems oddly unaffected by the disorienting effects). The world twists and contorts into a swirling maelstrom of color and bizarre shapes. Then darkness.

You open your eyes and begin to blink. Did you merely doze off for a moment? You quickly come to the realization that you are right back where you started in central Illinois. The dawning sun is not yet visible but you can see hints of its light on the horizon. Still, the sky is overcast, and you now realize that it appears to be snowing.

No, not snow... ash. A very fine layer of ash has coated the truck, the ground, and other camps around you. It is almost imperceptible now, but you can smell it in the air and it makes your breathing just a little hoarse. Whatever just happened to you has now ended.

[sblock=Terrence]You feel a tingling sensation upon your arm. You look with horror to see the ring from the monster still wrapped around your arm as if you had never removed it. Wait. Did you remove it? You certainly remember intending to do so. You had even picked the perfect place to hide it so it would be out of sight. But strangely, you have no recollection of ever actually putting it there. The ring hums ever so faintly for a moment, and then is silent.[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Apr 27, 2010)

Francisco is completly lost with the reality change. He tries to walk to the others to feel he's not alone.* "I have had the strangest of dreams."* he says, and tells the dream. Just then he notices the ash. *"This is bad, this is very bad, we need to hurry up away from here. Come on, let's fix this thing before sunrise."*

*Knowledge (Physica science) +12 to identify the phenomena of the ash
Repair                     +16
Craft (mechanical)        +12
Craft (electronic)         +12*


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## ThWatcher (Apr 27, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 3/6*

Janice notices the ring on Terrence's arm and she takes a couple of steps back.  *"You've got to get rid of that thing.  It's going to eat us up if you don't."*


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## airwalkrr (Apr 27, 2010)

[sblock=Game information OOC]Everyone has rested for the night and so heals according to level.[/sblock]


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## Frozen Messiah (Apr 27, 2010)

ThWatcher said:


> Janice notices the ring on Terrence's arm and she takes a couple of steps back. *"You've got to get rid of that thing. It's going to eat us up if you don't."*




Terrence looks at the ring with shock and awe. "No, oh no no no no...I took this off," Terrence mutters stuttering slightly due to the strangeness of the scenario "Coome on Terrence hold it together, you took this thing off and then you put it in the back of the car and then you walked away from the car... and then this. What the hell is going on here?" Terrence continues as he begins to move his hand towards the ring. He then hears Janice telling him about the ring. "You know what I think you have a point on this one, I am going to throw it out into the wastelands." Terrence says as he grabs the ring and begins to pull it off slowly as if he doesn't know what will happen.


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## airwalkrr (Apr 28, 2010)

Predictably, the ring will not budge. It almost seems fused to Terrence's arm.


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## Frozen Messiah (Apr 28, 2010)

airwalkrr said:


> Predictably, the ring will not budge. It almost seems fused to Terrence's arm.




"damn it, Damn it, DAMN IT... the damned thing won't come off of my arm." Terrence says as he attempts to pll it off with no avail. Wade doesn't understand what is going on so he runs back to the car with Janice. "Hey doc, we have a problem. This ring is not gonna be budging anytime soon and I don't think it's because of my arm being stuck and more like it not wanting to come off."


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## Voda Vosa (Apr 29, 2010)

Francisco distracts his attention from the engine, and without word, he reaches out for a strong clipper. *"Let's see..."* He tries to cut the ring with the tool.


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## Frozen Messiah (Apr 29, 2010)

Voda Vosa said:


> Francisco distracts his attention from the engine, and without word, he reaches out for a strong clipper. *"Let's see..."* He tries to cut the ring with the tool.




Terrence takes a deep breath as if Francisco is going to take his arm off and stares forward off into the distance. "How's it looking doc, any progress?" Terrence askes as he concentrates on the horizon rather than the pain on his arm.


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## airwalkrr (Apr 29, 2010)

*Day 1, November 4th, 2020, Approx. 5:45 AM (11:45 GMT)*

As Francisco tries to cut off the ring with a pair of diagonal cutting pliers, Terrence lets out a howl in pain. It's like Francisco is trying to cut off a piece of his arm.
[sblock=Game Information]Terrence takes 1 point of damage.[/sblock]


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## Voda Vosa (Apr 29, 2010)

*"Be a macho pall, I'm just appling pressure over the ring, not over your arm." *The physicist says rolling his eyes. *"You are not used to pain up here ah?" * he releases the pliers. 
*"Tell you what, lets fix the truck first, and worry about the ring later. If we don't get this running we are going to die anyways."*


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## Frozen Messiah (Apr 29, 2010)

Voda Vosa said:


> *"Be a macho pall, I'm just appling pressure over the ring, not over your arm." *The physicist says rolling his eyes. *"You are not used to pain up here ah?" *he releases the pliers.
> *"Tell you what, lets fix the truck first, and worry about the ring later. If we don't get this running we are going to die anyways."*




"Well you could have fooled me, felt every bit of that. Anyways your right we should get the blasted car moving along again." Terrence says as he rubs the ring as he moves towards the car.


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## ThWatcher (Apr 29, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 4/6*

Janice holds back a few steps behind Terrence, wanting to help him but still afraid of the 'ring' and what she saw in her dream.  

And then there was that moment spent in the nightmare world.  Was that real or are her dreams starting to invade her waking hours.  She was certain that was also connected to the 'ring', but she didn't know how yet.


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## airwalkrr (Apr 29, 2010)

*Day 1, November 4th, 2020, Approx. 6:15 AM (12:15 GMT)*

[sblock=Knowledge (physical sciences) DC 15]The ash is undoubtedly fallout from the nuclear detonation. Given the magnitude of the explosion, and the knowledge that at least one other nearby city was also hit with a similar weapon, the quantity of ash is likely to only accumulate into greater masses over time. It might be weeks before the sky is completely clear again.[/sblock]
[sblock=Treat Injury DC 20]The falling ash is likely to contain radioactive particles from the nuclear detonation. Prolonged exposure will cause radiation sickness which will be worse the longer the period of exposure.[/sblock]
Francisco heads back to the engine to see what he can do. Slivers of light begin to poke through the gently falling ash, but it is not the welcome dawn you had hoped for. The falling ash makes everything hazy and limits your view substantially. Nevertheless, Francisco does have a good enough view to get a few things straight. First of all, he realizes that the electrical systems are completely shot. The jury rig he performed to jump start the engine the first time will no longer work. He is going to need some spare parts to get the vehicle working. It might be possible to salvage the needed parts from similar abandoned vehicles along the road, but it is hard to tell how long that will take. One thing is certain, he can't get it running with the tools he has now.

Perhaps worse is the recognition that the fuel tanks have ruptured. Francisco realized he ought to check this when he discovered the fuel gauge was damaged. As it turns out, the gauge is stuck. It has probably read 1/3 of a tank for miles and no one really gave it much notice. The damaged fuel gauge simply meant that no one realized the truck was out of gas a long time ago and has been running on fumes. If the truck can be fixed, which is difficult to say at this point, it will be pointless if the fuel canisters can't be repaired and more diesel fuel found.


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## airwalkrr (May 4, 2010)

*Day 1, November 4th, 2020, Approx. 6:45 AM (12:45 GMT)*

Dawn has cracked in the ashy sky and a hazy morning light is now filtering down. You have all had a rather satisfying breakfast of pork and beans from the canned goods you grabbed yesterday and are ready to make preparations for the day. You have two options, generally speaking. You can either stay with the truck and make a short trip out to see if you can find the supplies you need, or you can continue the journey on foot to wherever you feel might be a safe place to hole up for a while or at least to get more information.

Kyle is concerned that unless Aziz gets proper medical attention, he will become septic and soon die from infection. He really isn't in much condition to be moved, but talk of constructing a stretcher has surfaced in light of the fact that the truck is currently immobile.

What will you do?


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## ThWatcher (May 4, 2010)

*Janice Cardinal 4/6*

Janice has no idea what to choose so she waits for the rest of the group to decide.


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## airwalkrr (May 26, 2010)

Bump

Is anyone still interested in this game?


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## ThWatcher (May 26, 2010)

I am, as long as there is enough people to keep it going.


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## airwalkrr (May 27, 2010)

OOC: You're the only one who's posted in a month. That's why I asked. I'll give it a few days and see if any other players reply.


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## Voda Vosa (May 27, 2010)

Francisco delivers a punch on the truck. *"This mierda is ruined. I need more spare parts, perhaps from the other vehicles around. Don't know... I'm not sure if I can get it rolling. But I'm affraid that if we stay this is going to get real bad, real soon. This ash, it is from the nuclear explosion. We need to get out of here."* Francisco explains.


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## airwalkrr (May 28, 2010)

*Day 1, November 4th, 2020, Approx. 6:50 AM (12:50 GMT)*

[sblock=OOC]ThWatcher, Janice may be a child, but she is also a hero. So it wouldn't be completely out of character for her to make suggestions, if you have any. She may be remiss to take on a leadership role because of her youth and upbringing, but she is does have good mental scores.[/sblock]
An African American man sporting a highway patrolman's uniform approaches your group with a flash-light as you discuss what to do. He shines the light in your eyes in the ashy morning air, clearly trying to get a good look at all of your faces. On his chest is a name badge next to his officer's badge. The name badge says "Beeman." After he has taken a good look at each of you, he speaks. *"My name is Officer Beeman, state trooper. You folks look like you're in a bind. Anything I can do to help?"*


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## ThWatcher (May 28, 2010)

Janice knows that policemen are basically good guys and even though she has been avoiding them for over a year now, this is not the time to try to run away.  

*"Maybe, our truck we're using to get away from the bomb is broken again.  Do you have a car that works?  Or can you help use find parts to fix this one fast?  We all need to get out of here fast."*  Waving to the people with her, *"They say this ash is bad and we need to get away from it.  So, can you help us?"*


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## airwalkrr (May 28, 2010)

*"Well, I have a squad car a ways back, but me and my partner had to lock it up after we ran out of gas. Since then we've been hoofing it to see what we can do to help people out. I've been suggesting people continue to move down south on the highway to Bourbonnais and Kankakee. There's a rumor floating around that they still have electricity and running water. It's about 2 to 3 miles south of here. You might be able to make it on foot in a couple hours.

I've got first aid supplies back in my squad car too, but not much else."*


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## Voda Vosa (May 29, 2010)

*"If you won't be using your car I might have this truck moving with spare parts from your movile, we could give you guys a ride." *Interjects the physicist. *"Oficial, the downfall will kill everyone in a  50-100 miles radius from the epicenter of the explosion, so we need to get quite far." *


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## airwalkrr (May 31, 2010)

*"I'd like to help you out. Really, I would. But I doubt you'll find much of use in my squad car for that diesel rig. On top of that, it's in the opposite direction of where you say we should be headed. Mind if I ask what kind of engine troubles you're having? I was a mechanic for these things before I joined the force. I might be able to lend you some aid, my foreign friend."*


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## Voda Vosa (May 31, 2010)

*"Well, that's not good. Look, the electrical systems are completely shot. The jury rig I performed to jump start the engine the first time will no longer work. We need some spare parts to get the vehicle working." *Francisco says, then he gets out of the truck and to the front. *"Here, take a look."* he says as he shows the insides of the vehicle to the officer.


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## airwalkrr (Jun 1, 2010)

*"Yeah, me and my partner had a similar problem. All electrical systems blown. We were on the edge of town when the blast happened. Nearly tipped the squad car over. But all the electronics are busted. The flashlight was shielded somehow, luckily. I think it was the fact that we had it stored in an emergency box. Those things are supposed to be EMP-proof. Funny, I always thought such a thing was a waste of taxpayer money. Anyway, the only electrical stuff we have that's still working is this flashlight, a GPS locator, a satellite phone, and some power tools for changing a tire. GPS locator isn't working though. I guess the towers are out. And we tried using the satellite phone to contact the state capital. All we get is a message saying the number has been disconnected. We decided to conserve the battery just in case and didn't make any other calls.

"Let me take a look at that truck. Yep... Mmm hmm... I see... Yeah your electronics are shot. Nice idea to salvage the cross bars like that though. Looks like the soldered connections you made have melted through. Unless you've got a heckuva lot more solder that won't work twice. We need to see if we can find a dealership or automotive workshop that does imports if we're gonna get this baby working again. Preferably one that hasn't been hit by the EMP. There may be one in Manteno, which is about a quarter mile back. If you want to walk with me we can make a quick trip over there."*


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## Voda Vosa (Jun 1, 2010)

"Francisco nods, but there's something amiss for him, as he frowns.* "Why you people still use that archaic measure system is something I will always wonder."* he shakes his head, and then gets a hand over his face, while looking at the electric jury. *"Alright amigo, seems as our best chance. What do you all think about this?"* the physicist asks the others on the truck.


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## ThWatcher (Jun 2, 2010)

*Janice*

Janice wraps her scarf around her face and says *"I'll go with you."*


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## airwalkrr (Jun 11, 2010)

*"I'll go with you,"* says Harry. *"Not sure much help a grocer will be, but at the very least, I'm another set of hands.*

*"Sounds good,"* Kyle says. *"I'll stay here with Terrence and watch over Aziz. If you find a medical facility in Manteno, let them know I have a patient in critical condition. I don't think it's safe to move him but if I get some better medical supplies I can stabilize him so he can be moved somewhere better."*

[sblock=OOC]Sorry it took me so long to get back. I was very tired after the trip. I'll get another update here very soon with what you find in Manteno. I want to make a quick post to my other games though.[/sblock]


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## airwalkrr (Jun 14, 2010)

Officer Beeman leads the way north along I-57 to the town of Manteno. Along the way you pass a sign that says "Welcome to Manteno! Population 8,379." It does not take long until you reach Exit 322, E Co Hwy 9, which leads into downtown Manteno. Following along Hwy 9, you pass through the town, which swells with refugees. Most refugees look like they are survivors of the Chicago blast. There is electricity in some places, but it seems the power grid has been overtaxed and there are blackouts in many places. The few places that have power are catering to the refugees in ways they can, although there is no extra shelter space remaining. A few people have set up soup lines or bread lines that remind you of stories you have heard about the Great Depression almost a century ago. You hear that Manteno High School in the north part of town has a number of volunteers who are helping people out with various kinds of aid. Medical supplies, food, and shelter in the high school's auditorium and gymnasium are all things said to be available to refugees there. People say other churches and schools might be offering similar services. Officer Beeman also asks about auto supplies and is directed to Lang Auto Parts on the south side of town.

You have come a long way, but many things remain to be resolved. Aziz still needs medical attention. Your vehicle must be repaired. And you still know very little about the atomic blast, why it happened, or the state of affairs in other parts of the country as a reaction. And what of the second blast over Gary, Indiana? Was there an attack upon other cities as well? These questions and more must be answered as the day progresses.

[sblock=OOC]Please continue to post your actions in Chapter 2.
Experience earned: Francisco 1245, Janice 1310 (level up!)
Experience is weighted by character level (lower-level characters getting more) and posting frequency (the higher the frequency, the larger the reward).[/sblock]


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