Day 2
-Sunny-
Pat wakes up screaming "THE FIRES OF HELL COME UPON ME TIME IS A ILLUSION THAT WE CAN NOt escape..." Pat suddenly comes to his senses and looks around confused his surroundings foreign to him Pat knows not how he got here but before he can ponder things further a sudden extreme thirst takes hold "Oh god so thirsty..." Pat quickly forces himself up and lunges for the nearest source of liquid being the lemonade pitcher downing about a quarter before his thirst is satisfied and gulping down one of his rations shortly after. "Oh god I needed that." Pat takes a couple of seconds to collect himself before coming to the sudden realization that he is surrounded by strangers. "Oh uh sorry if this was uh your peoples lemonade I was just so thirsty and uh sorry if this is a erm awkward question but where am I?"
After gaining my bearings and hopefully given a run down on how things work and what's nearby I will awkwardly follow the weird costume guy to the bank.
Zip-E stands in the background listing to the various conversations before he finally decides to say something.
"After hearing what you've been saying Briggsby I have come to the conclusion that beveling in this god person is required to live here, and while I did enjoy my time here it seems I also can not stay as I have no idea who god is, other than I have a vague memory of a man in a suit telling me that Zip-E-Mart was more important than god or something like that, and as such I shall now begin my quest to find a Zip-E-Mart to find out what it is, and while it saddens me that I won't be here to help you people become your true selves like I have, but I'm sure I can try to help set everyone here on that path when I find my self passing through this area again, so goodby for now."
And with that said I shall now go forth and head to the bank as I was once told by a man in a suit that they are filled with the source of happiness and I feel that happiness is required for the continuation of my spiritual journey and the discovery of what Zip-E-Mart is.
(You forgot to put the sickle in my inventory.)
No one directly fills Pat in on what's going on, but from the snippets he gathers of various conversation he gets a general understanding of his situation: he is in a farmhouse in the rural town of Edinburg, Indiana. It is nominally run by Walter Briggsby, on account of him being the first one here, and the one to invite everyone to this location. Everyone has already begun setting out to their own tasks and projects.
Walter Briggsby nods solemnly, but respectfully at Zip-E-Zebra's explanation. "I can't say I entirely understand what you're meaning, but you're confident of it, plus you had the manners to give a proper farewell." He rubs his chin, "Zip-E-Mart is a convenience store, or is it a retail place? Not sure, they don't have many round these parts. Like I promised, I'll let you part ways with some things." Briggsby gives the mascot
2 rations from the Stockpile, a map of Southern Indiana including cities, towns, roads, and natural features, and a quick blessing. When Zip-E makes his exit, Pat shadows him from a meaningful distance.
[5] From the exterior, the small bank is just as everyone had said: compact, neat, and filled with a few well-dressed zombies, but not many, perhaps five in the main area. Most are standing in the lobby, though one is behind the teller's window. The bank itself doesn't look too damaged either, which is a good indication that its inventory is still intact.
"Ain't pride that's keeping me going Mr.Briggsby, only reason I'm standing here is cause the few I called family took the hit for me. I'll be lucky if I even see my dog again, cause god sure as hell didn't watch over any of them when they told me to run for it.
I'll be on my way and check out that supermarket you mentioned. If I find anything good or i'm in the area, I'll pop a call on channel 11, alright? Least I can do to repay the hospitality."
Alex sets off for the crazy chicken supermarket, having stayed his welcome at the farm. He could respect their position and way of doing things, but it didn't mean he agreed with them.
"'Nother one? Well I suppose folks believe in all sorts of things in all sorts of different ways these days. I respect a man that can part ways amicably rather than start trouble. Your help will be more than appreciated, and you're welcome back any time you change your mind. Good luck partner." Alex is given
2 Rations from the Stockpile, another map of Southern Indiana and the Lord's Prayer before he hits the road.
[3] The road towards the
Crazy Chicken Supermarket is more perilous than anyone had made it out to be. Twice, Alex has to take a detour off the main road and sneak past a herd a zombies numbering over a hundred strong. After hours of travelling and the sky darkening, Alex consults the map to see that he is only halfway to his destination. For the night, he takes refuge in an decrepit truck stop lacking provisions or zombies. The pumps are dry, and outside a few rusting truck trailers lay on the ground like discarded crustacean shells.
Attempt to find an Academy or something like it. Then, go south and try to find a gas station. Take all non perishable food back to base. If I have any time left over, try to get some scrap metal and fortify the perimeter.
[5] An hour-and-a-half beyond The Farmhouse, and even past Edinburg itself, Calvin discovers a collection of tan concrete buildings named
Vermouth Community College. According to the sign that bears that name, the university specializes in "Agriculture, Mining and Environmental Science". Glancing within, there are zombies prowling the area, though only about as densely as in Edinburgh.
[1] The gas station is only about a five minute walk past the community college. As Calvin nears it, he can clearly see barrel fires on the gas station property. Then, Calvin hears a scream, and sees a man dressed in black leathers and heavy clothing stumbling out of the gas station store itself, clutching a bleeding arm. Following him out of the store are a half dozen similarly dressed people, all armed. Mainly blades and clubs, but there's a shotgun in their ranks. The bleeding man falls to his knees and begs, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It won't happen again!" The shotgun wielder cocks his weapon, "You're out of excuses Crusoe! No more weak links!" He fires the shotgun into the beggar point-blank, sending his body flying several feet before landing on the road leading up to the station. With this complete, the tough-looking people hurriedly clear back into the store area and close the door behind them.
Thankfully, Calvin witnessed all of this but did not attract the attention of any of these people.
[3] With all of this new information to share, Calvin returns to the Farmhouse and collects whatever scrap metal he can find to create fortifications. For the most part, it looks like most scrap metal on the property has either been taken away, or already incorporated into the house itself. Out of a few broken chunks of pick-up truck body Calvin is able to erect a single barricade in front of The Farmhouse. It won't keep anyone out like a wall would, but it would allow about 3 people to conceal themselves, or take cover in a fight.
“Understandable, I shall make... improvements to my future labs condition.”
I shall scavenge for lab and science materials along with things that could be used to build my lab. Or, At least a improvised one. If I have any time left I try to improve relations with Briggsby.
”I can try helping you with building a lab, a controlled environment would be good for plants to grow, of course if I do grow plants inside, they will be far away from your equipment”
Help with finding things for building a lab
“When the lab is built, I can give some of my blood, as it is now, I don’t think there’s any way to test samples. I may be a gardener but I remember a class in school having a centrifuge, so we’ll need to find or build one of those”
Chris Mercer sets to setting up a blood analysis lab in the basement, with assistance from Willow.
[2+1] The two of them manage to carry a spare wooden table down into the basement and place it into a comfortable spot, and then afterwards with a wooden dresser which has the potential to be modified or altered to storage, more workspace or even something else. These two pieces of furniture, and a couple chairs, mark out everything they can appropriate from the house. The other furniture is all in use by other people, as beds or as other everyday utilities. So far it looks more like a typical classroom or study than a proper lab.
[5] For the rest of the day, Chris and Briggsby sit on the front porch and hang out. There's many differences between them, from age to background, but they both connect over the passions they have for their respective professions. Briggsby learns a few things about blood, while Chris gains insight into more practical areas of life, tips about reloading guns and how to deescalate potentially violent confrontations. Later on, Briggsby even starts to open up to Chris about his past: how he had a family, a wife, a children, the whole deal. But then his face sours and he insists that they change the conversation, at which point they talk about their hobbies. By the end, both can confidently call the other a friend.
Unlike the rest of the group, Caroline arrived a day later than everyone and thus with one less ration. She waited for everyone to leave before coming in to introduce herself.
"Hello Brigsby. My name is Caroline Brucer. We haven't met before, but I've been keeping tabs on your group." She gestures towards the scope on her rifle. "It was pretty brave of you to invite so many strangers over like that. I can tell you're a good person officer, but you're also a vulnerable old man sitting on a stockpile of supplies. As a policeman, you should know what some people are capable of."
"Truth is, I came a day later because I wanted to see if this place was still going to be around tomorrow, but it looks like you've only found good people so far."
She opens the slide of her rifle and puts it on the ground, showing that it's unloaded.
"Thankfully I'm also a good person, but this peace is not going to last forever. As someone who wants to join your team, I'd like to help you prepare for the day when someone less pleasant arrives. Do you have room for one more?"
Once introductions are done, Caroline tries to climb onto the roof of the barn. Hopefully there's a ladder around. We don't have a watchtower yet so this will have to do. Assuming she makes it on top, try to get feel for the amount of area she can supervise (with the rifle scope of course). She can probably see the entire property from there, but how far beyond it? Does she see any notable landmarks? Are there any obstructions like trees or buildings that prevent her from seeing as far as she could have if the terrain was just an open field?
Once that's done, climb down and begin cleaning the hay out of the barn. Someone's got to do it.
After offering a polite prayer of thanks, Sam helps himself to some decent pork and beans, a little salt for spice; best damn thing he's had in a while, and part of that's probably the eating with an actual table and chair, he jokes.
While he eats, Sam works on the new bulletin board a bit:
-PRIORITIES-
1.)* Food & water, at least 3 weeks worth
2.)^ Gathering parties for supplies
3.) Get a working vehicle in case we need to run in a hurry
4.) Fortify the farmhouse - board windows
* - Where's the well? Who in God's good name builds a farm with no well? Investigate.
^ - At least 3 people per group. One watching front, one watching back, one scrounging around.
Alright, well, time to get to work. Sam calls out to Alex before he heads for the chicken place. "Alright, hey, just... just a second. We ain't gonna get far if we all just go running around. You went to that diner earlier, right? Why don't we try heading there together this time? I'd like to get someone else, but, we gotta start lootin' real quick, and you can go your own way from there, too; just take a pick from whatever we find and keep going. That sound fair?"
Sam also tries to ask around for one more person, and if they can get 3 in total to go to Moe's Diner and loot, he'll grab a rusty shovel as a weapon and head out there to search for supplies. If not, he'll instead search around the farmhouse grounds for a proper well, because no one in their right mind has a farm without one. Might ask Mr. Briggsby if he knows what's what, there.
If there's no obvious well or a decent clue to the same, Sam'll just spend the rest of the day cleaning up the barn of the moldy hay and junk.
EDIT: Oh, also... I'd like to add that Sam's gonna follow the third rule for praying at meals and sleep time every chance he gets. He's grateful to even has the chance he still has right now, after all.
Briggsby stares into Caroline's eyes for several seconds without saying anything. "You're a no-nonsense type of lady, ain't ya? Well, you need a couple of those on hand in any group, to cut through all the crap and tell people what they need to hear without dancing around. I'm plenty aware of what people are capable of, so I needed a strong, trustworthy group ASAP. And if I ended up giving my position away to a bunch of grade-A assholes? Well...I'd rather deal with em sooner than later. Follow the 3 Rules and you're welcome to be a part of our little family."
[4] Thankfully, there is a ladder lying in the tall grass near the barn. After setting it up and cleaning to the top of the barn, securing her footing on the slanted roof, she scans her surroundings through her rifle scope. For the most part, she has a view of what she's already seen and what others have described: The Farmhouse property, Edinburgh and its neighborhoods beyond it, then the community college. In between all these places of relative import is flat asphalt or grass. Towards the South of The Farmhouse, past the fields, is an impressive forest, and everything past the treeline is obscured from view.
While this happens, Sam eats "real" food for a change and christens the bulletin board with its first message. Hopefully, someone other than Briggsby and himself read it.
Alex is apparently not swayed by Sam's suggestion since the animal tamer leaves shortly after their conversation. Similarly, his recruitment of others to join an expedition to Moe's Diner falls through, as everyone is busily occupied by their own projects. Depending on someone's perspective, this group is either scattered and anarchic so far or a beacon of individual independence...
At least he gets a shovel.
[2] Briggsby elaborates about the well: "Oh yeah, course there's a well on property. Or, there was a well. See that pile of white rock out past the side of the house? Reckon that used to be the well, but the previous owners dammed it all up. Wonder why they would do something like that? Don't make sense to do it in a hurry, running away from zombies, so they had to have done before the last day, with time to spare. Strange happenings."
[6] Caroline and Sam, through similar yet accidental impulse, end up cleaning the barn at the same time. It's hard, laborious, and smelly work that requires the improvisation of different items as brooms and disposal bags. But together they get it done efficiently; for a full-day project, they clean up the barn in about three hours.
In addition to a newfound sense of comradery in shared work, another shared feelings comes between the two of them. It's the lingering sense that often falls upon the most industrious members of a group, the inkling that the two of them are putting in more effort and focus to the long term survival of the whole group than the others. Both of their plans thus far have been meticulous and serious, while other people seem to be content going on "adventures" or engaging in personal side-projects...
Everyone residing at The Farmhouse consumes a Ration from the Stockpile.
Everyone else consumes a personal Ration.-PRIORITIES-
1.)* Food & water, at least 3 weeks worth
2.)^ Gathering parties for supplies
3.) Get a working vehicle in case we need to run in a hurry
4.) Fortify the farmhouse - board windows
* - Where's the well? Who in God's good name builds a farm with no well? Investigate.
^ - At least 3 people per group. One watching front, one watching back, one scrounging around.
7 Rations
Matchbox [9]
1 Rusty Shovel
5 Bibles
The Farmhouse - Two story structure. Current HQ. Neglected weedy fields.
*Walter Briggsby - Retired cop. De facto Leader.
*Metal Barricade - Fits 3, offers concealment and protection
Edinburg - Small rural farming town.
*Small Bank - Handful of well-dressed zombies
*Public Park - Small horde of 30 zombies
*"Moe's Diner" - Thinker within
*Neighborhoods - Scatterings of various homes
Vermouth Community College - Specializes in Agriculture, Mining and Environmental Sciences
Gas Station - Just past Vermouth Community College. Occupied by tough, leather-wearing armed group
The Forest - 30 minute walk behind The Farmhouse.
Blesgate - Half a day's travel East. Strange, aloof people in odd dress encountered here.
Name: Calvin p. hunt [BlackPaladin99]
Appearance: Generic human male
Item: Compound Hunting Bow
Occupation: parkour teacher
Nostalgia: video games.
Equipment: Compound Hunting Bow [12 Arrows] (Silent)
Road Map of Edinburg
4 Rations
Health: Normal
-----
Name: Alex "Pet everything" Karson [Dustan Hache]
Appearance: A man in his fourties wearing a thick pair of overalls with multiple claw-marks from animal handling. Brown hair with streaks of grey here and there, brown eyes.
Item: Steel Spear
Occupation: Animal Trainer for circuses and zoos.
Nostalgia: Spending time with his pet dog Chaos.
Equipment: Steel Spear
Map of Southern Indiana
5 Rations
Health: Normal
-----
Name: Willow [Naturegirl1999]
Appearance: Human female with tired looking eyes due to not sleeping much since the apocalypse
Item: First Aid Kit
Occupation: Gardener
Nostalgia: Not being hunted all the time, being able to sleep for longer periods of time without worrying about getting killed, being able to garden in piece without losing everything the next day due to looters
Equipment: First Aid Kit [100%]
4 Rations
Health: Normal
-----
Name: Zip-E-Zebra [King Zultan]
Appearance: He appears to be of average height but you can't really tell do to the anthropomorphic zebra costume he's wearing which as far as he's concerned is what he is, the zebra is wearing khaki pants an a black polo shirt with green stripes on it and Zip-E-Mart in bold letters on the back.
Item: Kukri Knife
Occupation: Corporate Mascot
Nostalgia: He's sure he'd be nostalgic about something if he could remember anything from before a few months ago.
Equipment: Kukri Knife
Sickle
Map of Southern Indiana
5 Rations
Health: Normal
-----
Name: Sam Dutton [Xvareon]
Appearance: Tall and leanly muscled, with mid-length, messy black hair he keeps scratching out of habit. Still wearing his steeltoed boots, blue jeans and utility vest from his last job, stained with pizza sauce and drips of coffee.
Item: Metallic Flashlight
Occupation: Handyman
Nostalgia: Recycling items, like taking motors out of fans and vacuum cleaners. Preferably while tuned out with an MP3 player plugged in his ears. He always got a thrill out of packing as much as his dumpster could possibly hold, burning anything combustible, and stripping down everything else for the recycle bins. Doesn't have the same zest when he has to do it to survive.
Equipment: Metallic Flashlight (Solar-powered)
Shovel (Rusty)
4 Rations
Health: Normal
-----
Name: Chris Mercer [Knightwing64]
Appearance: Chris is a handsome man, Albeit slightly pale due to long nights of studying. His eyes are a brilliant yet haunting blue. He is of European descent and has inky black curly hair.
Item: Bottle of Antibiotics
Occupation: Biologist
Nostalgia: Being commended for his great work in gene modification and viral agents. Also misses his job.
Equipment: Bottle of Antibiotics [100%]
4 Rations
Health: Normal
-----
Name: Pat A. Johnson [Fluffe9911]
Appearance: A thin man in his late thirties wearing a ripped cheap looking grey business suit and wireframe glasses with a noticeable crack on one of the lenses. Black hair with a large bald spot at the top, brown eyes and white slightly wrinkly skin.
Item: Luxury Cologne Bottle
Occupation: Financial manager
Nostalgia: His pet hamster Dave
Equipment: Luxury Cologne Bottle [100%]
4 Rations
Health: Normal
-----
Name: Tim [TricMagic]
Appearance: Brown haired girl. Brown eyes, white skin
Item: Acoustic Guitar
Occupation: Pryotechnics
Nostalgia: Fire. One benefit of the zombie apocalypse is getting to cause explosions and fires without anyone getting on your case. Sadly, the times where one can easily get fireworks under the table.. Wait, that never existed, so still as difficult, but no longer illegal.
Equipment: Acoustic Guitar
4 Rations
Health: Normal
-----
Name: Caroline Brucer [heydude6]
Appearance: Naturally long-haired brunette who currently keeps her hair in a bun. Wears her old disheveled baseball uniform (minus the hat). Hasn't been able to find the time to go to the gym and has thus regressed into a more feminine physique.
Item: Hunting Rifle
Occupation: Baseball player
Nostalgia: Celebrating with the team after a good game.
Equipment: Hunting Rifle [20/20] (Bolt-Action, Scope)
3 Rations
Health: Normal
I noticed that I accidentally wrote this whole turn in 3rd person perspective. What do you guys prefer, 2nd or 3rd person responses?
Author
Topic: Roll to Rebuild - Day 3 [9/10] (Read 9350 times)