Suggested SoundtrackAttention civilians, this is the Emergency Broadcast Safety System. Currently it is Major Arnold Steven Stallone speaking. It has come to the military’s attention that more and more looters have been attempting to leave the Green Zone for the Yellow or Red Zones to loot the abandoned buildings. We are coming on air today to inform you that anyone leaving the Green Zone is a risk to not only themselves but the entire community.
The first and foremost danger does go to these “Looters” obviously. They seek more, they hunt for more, and they won’t stop until they get it. But it’s never enough. This sort of avarice encourages greater and greater risk. Eventually they are all found by the Bandits who exist outside of our wall. The lucky ones are simply killed and eaten by the evil bastards. Women looters face worse with rape and torture not being uncommon. If you have thoughts of looting we urge you to resist. For your own safety.
If you are still considering it then we still urge you not to do so. What about the balance of the community? These are hard times. Everyone has had to go with less. These Looters however have stolen various pieces of property including rations and vital military equipment. Their growing hoard of stolen riches encourages jealousy. Jealousy encourages anger. Anger, in turn, encourages a collapse of our system.
For the sake of everyone the Green Zone Defense Squad is forced to announce the following measures. Any non military personnel found looting will be captured and brought in for questioning. Any non military personnel outside of the Green Zone Perimeter are now considered a bandit or a looter and will be shot on sight. All sightings of non military personnel leaving the Green Zone Perimeter are to be reported to military personnel.
Finally, to any non military personnel who has looted in the past, we are offering amnesty to any non military personnel who has looted in the past. To receive this luxury all past looters are to report to the nearest military officer and confess to their crimes as well as to the locations they have looted
This has been Major Stallone, signing off.(Thank Nerjin for these excellent radio broadcasts: I couldn't do them better myself.)
Day Two
Ghost & Alexis[7] No-one's really in need of looking for things in military complexes, so you're not going to get paid for it. You cut the fence's wire with a wire cutter, while Alexis keeps on the look-out for floodlights and trucks. [19] After five minutes, the fence is entirely cut, and you two slip into the night without the military even having an idea that you were there in the first place.
The early morning light trickles over the forest, red leaves crunching underfoot. They call the Grey Forest now. You both walk through the darkness of the shade. The wolves are checking out the perimeter. [6] After a while of walking, they come back. Alexis looks oddly disappointed.
You hold up your hand and stop. Alexis looks at you, then you point. She follows your gaze. A robin is on the ground, two feet in front of you. It picks at the ground, then looks up at you. It takes flight.
"I can't..." Alexis shakes her head. "I can't remember the last time I saw a robin."
You can't either. Hell, any bird. The world is a far quieter place, you realize, without the sound of birdsong.
[3] An arrow flies through the air, and you both take cover. You can see the girl who's attacking you. She's wearing a gasmask, sweatshirt, sewn together trousers, plastic bags for footwear. Got a makeshift wooden crossbow. Bad idea, they take too long to reload. She curses and slots a bolt in and starts winding it back, and thus the battle begins.
Alexis runs at the girl, and you draw your bow's string back. You hear the howling of dogs, and then the click of a bolt being perfectly prepared for firing at you.
[Alexis: 2+3=5][Enemy:6][Ghost:4=7][Dogs:4,9] What follows is a chaotic mangle of arrows, dogs howling, and swearing. When the dust clears, the bandit has fled and Alexis has a bolt in her gut. She groans and doubles over, and you walk over and help her. You manage to get the bolt out with a lot of screaming and a rock for leverage, and she's still bleeding pretty badly when it's done.
You keep walking, then stop. There's a red cross on one of the trees. Very faded, but you can see it. You look at your map. Yes, this is the spot. You kneel down by the tree and uncover some of the moss, and find a metal trapdoor. You open it, revealing a ladder going down into darkness. You descend eagerly.
You feel around in the darkness, and feel a button on a concrete wall. You press it, and the lights flick on. The EMP might not have touched this place. You can hear a gasoline engine, far off in the distance. The concrete bunker is one room, with crates everywhere. There is a table with a ham radio, and laying on the table, clutching the microphone, is an almost mummified corpse in army gear. You walk over, and see a tape recorder attached to the ham radio.
"This is Sergeant Max Frederickson." The voice is desperate, tired. "I'm not sure if anyone can hear this. It has been two weeks since the army retreated... and left me behind. If there's anyone in the area Zulu Alpha Zero Zero 4, please come, I'm running out of fo--"
You switch the tape recorder off, then look at the corpse. Something inside of you wishes you could do something.
Alexis comes down, but she doesn't ask about the corpse. You both begin to search the room. [6, 2] [5,2,5] You don't find anything except old wrappers and empty water bottles. Alexis stands behind you as you open a door... The problem being, the door's holding back rubble. [1] [5] You both get hit by a boulder, and fall to the floor. You get up, bruised and battered.
"... This ain't going so well, is it?" she says, and you nod. You both give the area one last look-over, then leave. There's nothing for you here. You go your separate ways as soon as you get back into the Green Zone.
Alexis:
Health 6
Hunger 5 (Fed)
Wolf One (Name not yet chosen)
Health 7
Hunger 8 (Fed)
Wolf Two (Name not yet chosen)
Health 9
Hunger 8 (Fed)
Ghost
Heath 9
Hunger 5
Map
Recurve Bow
4 Arrows
1 Rations
1 Portion of Food
Old Man Lee"Two eggs... Fresh eggs, hard to come by." Gerald hangs around out the back of the old gas station where the pumps are dry and a sign hands on the window saying NO GAS. No-one goes by there for it's intended purpose. They come for Gerald. He taps the crate that's underneath him then thinks. "I like you, Lee. Most old guys wouldn't survive this long if they weren't you."
You tell him it was luck, not anything else, that got you through this.
"Isn't that the only reason humans are still around?" Gerald says. "Anyway. Here's a few objects you could have for two fresh eggs. Take your pick, you only get one."
He takes out three objects. One's a pair of binoculars. One is a butcher's knife, slightly bloodstained. The last is a few corn seeds.
"Come on, old man, I ain't got all day." said Gerald.
You can choose what item you want, then plan out the next day.Health 10
Hunger 5 (Fed)
2 Rations
3 Pills
6 portions of food (Enough for 2 days)
"Reward card?" Red -the local scavenger- says, taking a drink of watered-down beer in the bar as you discuss things. "What can I do with a reward card? I'm not giving you the [19] cutlery and the pots unless you give me something better."
You tell him that the reward card specifies that you can get stuff you wouldn't get ordinarily. It's not a Utility card, where you can get repairs done on your house, but it can get you rewards. You also note that Red's daughter's birthday is coming up soon, right? Maybe a present wouldn't go amiss.
"Oh, yeah... It's her fourth. She's so happy. She... barely remembers, you know how it is..." Red smiles in a way you recognize from the times you look in the mirror: a genuine smile, but tempered with the fact that anybody can die, anytime, especially the people you're smiling for. He looks at you and sighs. "[9+2=11] Okay, okay, reward card. But you owe me."
You smile and hand him the reward card, and he hands you a non-descript box. You both finish your drinks and then make your excuses. You head back with the box and lay it on the kitchen, sending up dust. With all the MREs, when was the last time you cooked? You call for Emily, and she soon arrives.
"The army's saying they're cracking down on looters... They say it's protecting them, the bastards. They barely give us food, and they kill us for trying to get more..." Emily says, shaking her head. "The bandits can't be as bad as they say."
You know how bad they can be. You disagree.
"But if they're like you..." says Emily, smiling at you. "They can't be that bad, right?"
Your heart almost breaks. One day, Emily is going to die because you couldn't protect her. One day, you are going to die and Emily will be all alone in the world. You change the subject. You tell her you got some cutlery and kitchen equipment. Once you get some food, you could actually cook some food.
"Oh, Wade!" she hugs you. "Thank you. It's been so long since I had some actually prepared food."
You stay like that for a while. You and your wife, in each other's arms. For some reason, you feel like you're lying to her.
Wade
Health 12
Hunger 4 (Fed)
1 Ration
2 Ration Cards
1 Utility Card
Emily
Health 10
Hunger 4 (Fed)
Edgar WinterYou open the door to the internet café. It's a long shot, but it'll do. Inside is rows upon rows of empty desks, waiting for users that would never come. There's a pile of computers in the corner that have been set alight for some reason, and there's a bit of graffiti on the remaining ones. You get to searching the desks, and occasionally turn on the remaining computers in the vain hope that maybe one of them still works.
[20, 7] You open the door to the manager's office and withdraw from the stink. Another scavenger was less lucky then you: he triggered a bear trap and probably died from the bleeding. He kinda looks like a guy you saw around, he looked kinda shady. You take off his backpack and root through it. Empty tin cans, old romance books... What's this?
You take out a large metallic square with claws on the underside. It's got a screen on it, and a stenciled on "PROJECT SEVERED LINE". You tap the screen, holding it in your hand. Something beeps, and the words "Online" are displayed. Excellent, now you have to figure out what the hell it is.
Before you can even react, the object's claws dig into your palm. You yell and try to get it off, but wires come out of it as the object slowly integrates with your hand. Veins are replaced with wires, skin with a flexible plastic. It's indescribably painful, like an electric fire spreading through you. You pass out from the pain, and when you wake up, your entire left hand has been replaced.
You are now a cyborg. Man, the apocalypse has really turned things around for you in ways you didn't expect. Problem is... what does it do?
Health 10
Hunger 5 (Fed)
Toolbox
1 Ration
Unidentified Cybernetic Modification
Author
Topic: The Coil: A Post-Apocalyptic Succession Forum Game. Round 1: Waitlist Unlimited! (Read 6676 times)