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Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
ESE & MAXWELL
Anna makes it safely down the ladder, with Morten close behind. Suddenly the plexiglass in the door to the medical facility shatters, and three of the infected patients fall through the hole in the door and into the lobby, with the others right behind.
Spoiler
Ese, Maxwell and Brenda are the only ones remaining in the lobby. The first infected to come through the door are 10 yards away, although they've fallen through the door and will take a couple seconds to stand. Any others that try to go through the hole in the door will be slowed somewhat by the ones blocking the way.
There might be time for one person to jump down through the hatch, although it's about a twelve-to-fifteen foot fall to a hard metal floor, and you may strike Morten and Anna on the way down.
To your right are the two main elevators (neither of which are currently called this floor) and the main staircase. The open door to the security office is across the lobby, about fifteen yards away—and you'd have to cross the attacking infected to get to it.
TAL
There's an emergency exit in the video arcade that—if you remember correctly—leads to the area near the secondary elevators/stairs and the staircase up to the Viking Crown Lounge. There are a great number of heavy games in the arcade and furniture (couches, tables, etc.) in the Living Room that could be used to barricade a door if need be.
The Carvers continue to look around, but Adam is nowhere to be found.
You tell Pete about the sound you heard through the door to the disco. Danielle and Emma stand watch at the door while you and him check it out.
You both listen at the door, confirming the sound is still there: the quiet, wet noise, a soft moan, a sharp intake of breath. After a few moments of quiet deliberation, you throw open the door while Pete leaps inside, his fists raised. You rush in after him.
The disco is a large room with a dance floor in the middle and couches and tables along the outside wall. The main lights are off, but someone has turned on the disco ball, giving you enough light to see the source of the noise.
A teenage boy and girl are entwined on one of the couches, both of their shirts off, making out. As you burst into the room, the girl jumps up and screams, "What the ****?!", quickly grabbing her shirt and covering herself.
Pete groans and turns away. "Get your clothes on, both of you. Now."
Adam is about sixteen, with his mother's black hair, dark brown eyes and pointed chin, and his father's lips and nose. Even in the dim light you can see that he's blushing furiously as he quickly pulls on his shirt and grabs his headphones from the ground nearby, putting them around his neck. "Dad, I was—"
"Oh, I know exactly what you were doing," says a voice from the doorway. Danielle is there, her face like thunder. She marches into the disco, seizes he son forcibly by the elbow, and drags him into the Living Room. Her voice fades as they walk off, but you have no trouble hearing the opening salvo of her tongue-lashing: "You have no idea how much trouble you're in. My God, Adam, with what's happened we were so worried. Do you realize what could have happened? If you ever make me worry like that again …"
The teenage girl has put her shirt back on. She's quite pretty, with coppery red hair, big blue eyes and a splash of freckles across her noise. There's something about the prideful way she carries herself, though, that's somewhat off-putting; she doesn't look at all embarrassed, but rather indignant.
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
No time! Up the stairs! Ese shouts while closing the hatch.
Spoiler
I assume the hatch locks automatically. I assume it also has a pneumatic system for opening and closing, so once Ese nudges it just enough, it will close on its own. Anyway, once it is closed or closing, Ese will immediately begin to sprint up the stairs.
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
ESE
Spoiler
Yep! I'll have to wait for Maxwell to get back, since what he does might effect whether they chase you.
STEVE
"Lurch, we're coming down; you did get that crazy lady in the dress, right?" the walkie-talkie crackles.
The hatch above opens and a Hispanic man peeks down through it. Lurch smiles awkwardly in spite of the stinging of his scraped chest, and waves up at the hatch. "Oh, hey. Yeah, we met her."
The man's face disappears from view, and moments later a shaking blonde woman rushes through the hatch and down the ladder. From above comes the sound of cracking and screaming, followed by two more people coming down: a blonde woman in a doctor's smock and a man in an officer's uniform, who you immediately recognize as Captain Rendahl. The hatch above suddenly slams shut.
"Ese!" Lurch yells, bewildered.
Captain Rendahl runs a hand through his sweaty hair. "It's no good; they've swarmed Deck 01. My God, Anna, how many were in there?!"
The blonde doctor is distraught, but the act of recollection seems to calm her. "We had sixty-three sick patients," she says in a quiet, accented voice.
"And now they're loose on the ship," says the trembling blonde woman who was the first person down the ladder. Her name tag reads "REBECCA".
Spoiler
Using the hatch doesn't seem to be an option, although the elevator still works. Or you could head back along the maintenance tunnel toward the laundry room/engine room area. If what the three newcomers say is true, a very large number of infected people were just set free into the ship. From the main staircase they can go almost anywhere.
If you allow them to, Dr. Anna Holm, Morten Rendahl and Rebecca Underwood will join your party.
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
"Captain, Sir... we've got to get a warning out over the intercom. Tell people to stay in their cabins until help arrives."
Steve pauses and studies the captain's face for a moment.
"Help is on the way, isn't it sir?"
__________________
I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
- Dr. Seuss
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
STEVE
Captain Rendahl looks more tired than you've ever seen him. "With the satellite systems down there's no way to call for help from the mainland. We could try the VHF radio; it has a range of 60 miles, so if there's anything in that radius, they'll hear us. We have to get to the bridge to use it, though."
He begins walking quickly down the corridor toward engineering, calling back over his shoulder: "I'm going to make an announcement over the intercom to tell everyone to stay put. We need to leave this deck soon if we want to beat those things up to the bridge on Deck 10."
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
"Yes sir."
Then turning to the others, "It's probably best if we stick together, but you can at least lock yourselves in engineering if you don't want to go topside with us."
He starts to follow after the captain as he addresses Lurch. "Please tell me you've got some really big wrenches in there."
__________________
I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
- Dr. Seuss
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
Tal supresses a smile. "Why don't you watch the door, so we don't have any bad surprises," he says to Paul.
Turning to the girl, he quizzes her on who she is and what she knows.
Spoiler
(Leaving time for her responses)
"Hi. What's your name? . . . . Where is your family - what cabin and are they there or somewhere else right now? . . . . Do you know about the infection going around the ship? . . . .
"It looks like some of the infected people are going crazy and roaming the ship, attacking people. We even passed a couple of dead bodies just to get here to you. Come with us, and let's go find your family. Okay?"
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
STEVE
The group follows behind the captain, passing the laundry room and what appears to be a locker room, the room Lurch was in earlier when you first took the laundry elevator down.
As you continue down the corridor, the roar of the ship's engine grows steadily louder. When you come to a metal door, Lurch stops you all. "You guys shouldn't go past this point without ear muffs," he says, pulling his own pair off his belt and putting them on. "Wait here. I'll try to find some stuff to defend ourselves."
He opens the metal door and you are blasted by the din from inside. Lurch and Morten step inside and close the door behind them while you and the others wait there. Perhaps a minute later, the captain's voice rings out through the tunnel via the ship's intercom.
"This is Captain Rendahl speaking. The following is not a drill. A large number of sick passengers have grown violent and are running loose in the ship.
"If you are on one of the lower decks, lock your cabin door and lock yourself in your bathroom. Barricade both doors if possible—Faen, everything's bolted down, isn't it? Turn off the lights and remain silent. Find something to defend yourself with, if you can.
"If you are on one of the upper decks, immediately seek the nearest secure area and barricade yourself in as best you can following the procedure I just described.
"Any crew that are able to do so, immediately proceed to Deck 07 and ready the lifeboats. Passengers, if the emergency alarm is sounded, do not report to your emergency muster stations, but instead proceed directly to the lifeboat loading area on Deck 07.
"I'll report further information as the situation develops." He pauses, and almost as an afterthought adds, "Thank you for your cooperation."
The metal door opens and Lurch and Morten reenter the maintenance tunnel. Lurch's arms strain with the load he's carrying. "It's nothing fancy, but I raided one of the tool sets."
Spoiler
Lurch has brought several wrenches and a two-foot long section of heavy pipe. There are enough for each of you.
If you choose to follow the captain, he will be making his way back up to the bridge as quickly as he can (going back down the maintenance tunnel and taking the main elevator to Deck 10).
TAL
The red-haired girl appraises you coolly. "I'm Jamie, and my parents both stayed in the Caymans—they were both sick. And I'm not giving you my cabin number, creepo! What the hell." Her expression grows slightly softer and more worried at the mention of the dead bodies. "Wait, for real? Like … crazy sick people killed them?"
Spoiler
If you allow her to, Jamie Stewart will join your party.
The captain's voice suddenly echoes over the intercom, delivering news that you were already aware of (see Steve's post above).
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
Tal rolls his eyes. "If there's no one else to collect, I don't care what cabin you were in. Just stay close to us.
"You and Adam might both want to make yourselves face masks like we have. I have no idea how this infection is being transmitted, but we should all try to protect ourselves as best we can."
Both her parents got sick. She could be incubating the infection. She could be a carrier. Maybe she's even immune, although if both her parents got sick, that probably means that any immunity is not genetic.
He makes note of the Captain's announcement.
If the crew is getting life boats ready, perhaps the best thing to do right now is sit tight, and we can pool our knowledge as to what we know.
"Let's move back to the arcade. I think it was a little more defensible than here, and I think the emergency exit opens near the other stairwell, in case we need to run for the life boats."
Once they are settled back in the arcade, Tal will put Paul on watch. Remembering the Captain's broadcasted aside about bolted-down furniture. He first checks to see which of those heavy items in the arcade could actually be moved in the event they needed to barricade the door.
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
TAL
Jamie looks as if she wants to argue, but she bites her tongue and follows you into the arcade. You pass Pete, who has closed the door between the Living Room and the outside deck and is trying to barricade it with some furniture. The chairs are mobile but all the tables and couches are bolted to the floor, ostensibly so they don't get knocked around if the sea is rough.
The other Carvers are in the arcade sitting on the beanbag chairs beside the TV. Adam, to whom the news of the violence is new, is as white as a ghost. "So wait, they attacked you guys downstairs?"
"It was really scary," Emma tells him, waving her hands dramatically. She pauses for a moment, then adds, "One of them was in his underwear."
"Honey, why don't you take off that coat and hat? You have to be burning up," Danielle tells her daughter, but Emma shakes her head furiously and clutches the coat to her body.
Jamie sits down next to Adam and the two of them look at each other awkwardly. Danielle's mouth tightens and she shoots the girl a frosty stare.
You attempt to move some of the arcade games and such around, but they're all bolted to the floor. Probably for good reason, since if they fell on someone they'd probably crush them.
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
Steve thanks Lurch for the makeshift weapon, appreciating its heft in his hand.
"I'm going with you captain, I want to make sure you can reach the radio, see if we can get some help."
As they reach the elevator, Steve speaks again, looking a bit uncomfortable. "But I'm not sure we can evacuate, Sir. This disease... I mean, the ship may need to be quarantined?"
That last comes out sounding more like a question than a statement. Steve just shrugs and looks down at his blood smeared clothing.
Spoiler
I figure since he grappled the bloody crazy lady, he's looking pretty messy right about now.
And... Steve will encourage the others to come along to the bridge (safety in numbers).
__________________
I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
- Dr. Seuss
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
Quote:
Originally Posted by historiasdeosos
"Honey, why don't you take off that coat and hat? You have to be burning up," Danielle tells her daughter, but Emma shakes her head furiously and clutches the coat to her body.
Tal cannot help but note how strange Emma's action is. Perhaps we should get at this in a more roundabout way.
"I'd like us to compare notes about what we know about this illness. What we know could save our lives.
"I haven't seen all that much yet, but what I have seen:
"It looks like when the illness really takes hold, a person becomes extremely violent and even goes looking for a fight: that woman I followed to your cabin was sprinting. I couldn't keep up with her.
"That's something to keep in mind, too: these people are fast; we probably cannot outrun them. We'll need to outthink them.
"Thinking, on the other hand: they don't seem to be 'thinking' at all. It's like they are mindless.
"They seem to respond to noise: we heard some more approaching. If we do need to run, we should maybe try to create a diversion -- some noise in another direction.
"We saw two of them on deck 6, and while they were trying to attack us. I didn't see them trying to attack each other at all. That strikes me as really strange: they don't seem to think, yet it's like they know who is infected and only try to attack people who aren't infected. If we knew how they did that, we might know whether we could disguise ourselves as infected and be safe from them.
"That man who was attacking you guys," he nods to the Carvers, "Tell us how that started."
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
ESE & MAXWELL
You two and Brenda all sprint up the main staircase, trying to put as much distance between you and those things before they can get disentangled from the medical center door. It takes you only a few seconds to reach Deck 02, but Brenda is already three yards behind; it's clear that she's a bit slower than either of you.
You are on the main staircase at the landing of Deck 02. From here you can continue to sprint upward or you can exit onto Deck 02.
Spoiler
Since you said you were following Ese, Corrino, I assumed you decided to sprint too. You have been sprinting for 4 seconds thus far.
TAL
"There's nothing to tell, really," Danielle says. "Emma and Adam were staying in the room next to ours, and they went to bed—" she shoots a glare at Adam, "—or at least Emma went to bed—at around eleven. And after that, well …" she glances at Pete.
"We had a small argument," Pete says flatly. "But we weren't loud or anything; we didn't want the kids to hear. And a minute later that guy started throwing himself against our door. I guess the noise woke Emma up and scared her and she started screaming. And then all of a sudden the guy was beating on her door, not ours. Had damn near torn it off its hinges by the time I made it outside and tackled him.
"So you think it's the noise that attracts them?" Danielle asks. "That makes as much sense as anything else that's happened tonight, I guess."
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
"We had a small argument." The words are sickeningly familiar to Tal, as he remembers his time in L.A., then pushes those thoughts to the back of his mind.
Quote:
Originally Posted by historiasdeosos
"So you think it's the noise that attracts them?" Danielle asks. "That makes as much sense as anything else that's happened tonight, I guess."
"Well, I think they're attracted to people -- uninfected people. I'll bet if they can see or hear someone, they will chase after it.
"Come to think of it, the others we heard on deck 6 seemed to be attracted by the bellowing of that infected woman, so I guess any human-sounding noise is something they might chase after.
"Bottom line: We want to keep quiet and stay of sight of anything that looks sick. Let's all remember that."
Tal stops, as a thought strikes him. Attracted to human noise -- the ship's intercom -- some place we could enclose them all -- It may be worth trying.
"I have an idea that may help, but we're going to need to reach the captain or at least some crewmen who can work the equipment and know the layout of the ship.
"The captain sent crewmembers to Deck 7 to ready the lifeboats. That's probably my best bet for finding someone.
"What do the rest of you want to do? I think it is safest to remain right here rather than follow me, and one person is probably quieter than a several." He mentally winces as he remembers how "quiet" he was making his way across the deck. "On the other hand, if anyone chooses to abandon ship, we'll be right there at the lifeboats.
"That said, I don't think abandoning ship would be a very good idea unless someone knows where they're going and what's going to be there --"
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
ESE & MAXWELL
You all sprint up the stairs to Deck 03. Brenda is a full five yards behind you now, almost a full stair's length. From below, you can hear the clatter of feet on the faux-marble stairs; the sick people have made it into the main stairwell and are approximately 24 yards behind you.
You are on the main staircase at the landing of Deck 03. Ahead of you, you can see the Photo & Art Gallery, and through its glass doors on the far side you can see the lights of the Centrum. From here you can continue to sprint upward or you can exit onto Deck 03.
Spoiler
I'm assuming Maxwell is still following Ese. If not, Corrino, lemme know and I'll change it. You have been sprinting for 8 seconds. Once it hits 15 you begin running the risk of losing FP. If you have a particular deck you know you want to exit onto, let me know and I can just have you run all the way up without pausing on each one.
TAL
Pete shakes his head. "We appreciate all your help, but I don't think any of us should be going out there right now. The captain specifically said not to go out onto the decks. If those things are running around …"
Danielle puts her arm around Emma and rubs her shoulder fretfully. It looks like if you want to do this, you'll have to go it alone. Until …
"I'll go," Jamie says, standing.
"Honey, I don't think that's very smart," Pete says. "It's really dangerous out there. You heard the captain. There are people dead—"
"Hey, and you're not my dad," Jamie retorts; Pete falls silent. "If they're getting the lifeboats ready, I want on one." Jamie turns to you. "Ready when you are."
Spoiler
If you decide to leave, Jamie will go with you but the Carvers will stay behind.
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
Tal nods to the Carvers. "Good. I think you should stay. I've always been good at stating the obvious, so I'll just say keep a watch and keep quiet. If trouble starts to come through the front door, make a run through the back and down the stairs to Deck 7 would be my thought.
"But do what seems best at the time.
"If I get into trouble, I'll send Jamie back up here to you. I will be sure to draw off any of the infected, so she doesn't lead them back to you."
He considers Jamie. She's not coming along for my sake. She's also not all that attached to the boy if she's willing to leave him like this. Self-preservation, I think: she's looking out for herself as best she can think to. His thoughts turn inward again. Is that what I was doing when I fled to Chicago? She at least has the excuse of being a teenager.
Before he and Jamie leave, Tal takes Danielle aside. "Maybe Emma is just self-conscious to be in her pajamas with strangers around and it's nothing, but once we're gone, I think you should check under her coat, just to make sure she's alright. I'm concerned if she has any signs of an injury or infection, it could mean trouble. Be careful, and best of luck to you and your family."
He and Jamie will exit through the Living Room and try to get into the secondary stairwell just bow-ward of them, rather than moving all the way forward to the main stairwell.
Turning to Jamie as they start out: "The chivalrous thing for me to say would be I don't want you to carry any weapon, because if we get in trouble you should just run. That said, I suggest you find something solid you can hit with, if you need to."
Spoiler
They will head down the stairs to Deck 7, assuming no incidents along the way. Once reaching Deck 7, Tal will peak carefully out of the stairwell to see if he spots anyone working on the life boats and not obviously infected.
Stealth roll for Tal (3d6)[15] for Jamie (3d6)[12]
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
ESE & MAXWELL
Spoiler
For brevity I'm assuming you want to use the key card to go down to the engine room area. Correct me if otherwise.
Ese and Maxwell leave the stairwell, immediately turning right, and Ese slams his hand against the down button of the elevator. The machinery behind the door thrums as the elevator begins to rise. A moment later and Brenda is there, wheezing.
From the stairwell echo screams and a cacophony of hurried footsteps.
"Won't this thing hurry up?!" Brenda screams, wiping her eyes from where the cuts on her face have bled into them. The doors open and the three of you immediately leap into the elevator. There's an agonizing pause as you listen to the sound of the infected steadily approaching, but just as the first of them turns the corner into view, the doors slide closed.
You stand there for a minute, panting and listening to the sound of the things beating on the other side of the door. You've selected no floor to go down to. Ese prepares to swipe his key card to take everyone down to the engine room area, but Brenda stops his hand. "Wait, can you hear that?"
Over the sound of the roaring on the other side of the door, you can all make out a man's voice which sounds like it's coming from over the ship's intercom. Immediately the banging on the door stops and the screaming and the roaring move away, allowing you to hear the last few words of the announcement: "—Thank you for your cooperation."
"Swipe your card," Brenda says to Ese, "before one of them comes back and accidentally hits the button." But before Ese can do so, the elevator begins to descend on its own. There is the possibility that one of the monsters on Decks 01 or 02 has hit the button (in which case you'll all be very very dead), but thankfully you pass these decks and realize that someone has called the elevator from the engine room.
The doors open.
Spoiler
See the next post.
TAL
Upon your suggestion to check Emma for signs of infection, Danielle lets out a harsh little laugh, looking both amused and frustrated.
"She's fine, don't worry. Adam thought it would be funny to show Emma Titanic a few days before the cruise, and now she's terrified of crashing and freezing to death. We tried to explain to her that we're in the middle of the Caribbean, but she's kept that coat and hat beside her bed the entire trip, just in case we have to abandon ship." She look at her children and shakes her head ruefully before turning back to you. "Good luck out there."
As you prepare to leave and suggest that Jamie find a weapon, she snorts. "I'm a sixteen-year-old girl; how hard do you think I'd be able to hit something?" She darts behind the juice bar in the Living Room and returns, smiling slightly, with a serrated fruit knife instead.
You leave the deck via the secondary staircase. As you make your way down, you accidentally drop your walking stick; the clangor echoes down the stairwell … but nothing appears to have heard. Jamie rolls her eyes, and together you continue down.
As you pass through Decks 10 through 8, you can hear strange noises: muffled screams and thumping, as if people trapped within closed doors are trying desperately to free themselves. Occasionally there's a closer, louder scream and a scurrying of footsteps, but you see nothing and the stairwell remains empty.
You exit onto Deck 07. There is screaming here, louder and closer than before. You peek around the corner of the stairwell.
You are on the starboard-side, secondary stairwell of Deck 07, looking around the corner toward the bow. Ahead you can see the Bolero Lounge, and beside it, a busted-in door that leads to the outside deck. A corpse lies beside the door in a pool of blood, its head blown off. You can't see anything happening out on the deck, but the screams that are coming through the door are very loud.
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
ESE, MAXWELL & STEVE
STEVE:
Spoiler
You are indeed quite covered in the crazy woman's blood.
"He's right, Morten," Dr. Holm says as the group walks quickly down the maintenance tunnel toward the main elevator. She appears to have calmed down considerably, and her voice is crisp and level. You never interacted with her much aside from bringing patients to her, but you always got the impression that she was a smart cookie. "With something like this, we definitely need to keep it contained."
"Like Cancún?" the captain snaps. You've reached the elevator, and he jabs the UP button sharply. "Listen, if the government wants to quarantine us, that's fine. But until they get here, my responsibility is keeping the people on this ship safe."
The elevator doors ding open and, to your surprise, three people are already inside: the Hispanic man who stuck his head through the hatch earlier; a handsome, dark-haired man with an expensive haircut; and a dumpy-looking woman with four parallel scratches running across her face. Several of the others in the group are pleasantly surprised to see them.
---
ESE & MAXWELL:
You are in the maintenance tunnel that connects to the engine room, on the sub-deck below Deck 01. Anna, Morten, Lurch, and Rebecca are all here, along with two others that neither of you recognize: a fit-looking young man with short brown hair and a serious face, and a skinny Hispanic woman in a maid's uniform.
---
Spoiler
Everyone's together! Er, except Tal.
If everyone's okay with merging, the new group will be: Ese, Maxwell, Steve, Anna, Brenda, Morten, Lurch, Rebecca and Yolanda. Do a meetup roleplay if you'd like (Ese and Max: assume someone explains the plan to get to the bridge). If everyone's okay with it, I'll have everyone proceed directly to Deck 10.
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
After happily revealing to his compatriots that he still is, in fact, alive, Ese's initial inclination is to find some way to remove more of the various bits of the security guard's grey matter from his person. However, as the urgency of the plan to reach the bridge is conveyed, he decides he will defer further hygiene measures until later. Then, he remembers that Morten mentioned he didn't have his card.
Spoiler
I assume our engineering cards won't open the bridge, right? If so, he will ask, "But, Captain, how will we get into the bridge? Osea you forgot your keycard."
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
ESE
Morten nods. "I left my skeleton key card on the bridge, but all the officers' cabins are right beside the bridge, and they all have such key cards. If we can break into one of their cabins, they might have left their card behind."
His eyes suddenly narrow. "Maybe my first mate's cabin. I don't think he … I don't think he had his card on him the last time I saw him."
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
Quote:
Originally Posted by historiasdeosos
Ahead you can see the Bolero Lounge, and beside it, a busted-in door that leads to the outside deck. A corpse lies beside the door in a pool of blood, its head blown off. You can't see anything happening out on the deck, but the screams that are coming through the door are very loud.
"You might not be getting a lifeboat any time soon," Tal whispers to Jamie. "You stay here. Hold the door for me. If I come running back, it means I'm being chased. Don't wait for me: you run up, as quietly as you can and make your way back to the arcade. If I am being chased, I will run down and try to draw them after me. Got it?"
Before going on, Tal takes his hiking stick and finds a way to wedge it between the handrail and the wall a few steps downward and about six inches off the floor. I'll jump it, and hopefully it will trip anything chasing me and cause a big pile up. And if I'm not carrying it, maybe I can be a little quiet, for a change?
He will move to the door to the deck as quietly as he can and try to peak around the edge to see what's happening on deck.
Spoiler
Stealth roll, surely the third time is a charm: (3d6)[8]
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
TAL
You wedge your walking stick near the top of the stairs, and creep (successfully!) over to the door, peering around the shattered frame.
It appears that perhaps a dozen crewman did answer the captain's call—evidenced by the number of twitching bodies and limbs that litter the deck. The wood is awash in blood.
The fight isn't entirely over, however. Two crewmen are standing back-to-back, one armed with a fire axe, the other with what looks like a small metal flagpole.
Circling them are four of the infected: a young girl in a bathing suit, a naked young man, a middle-aged woman with her hair in curlers, and a tall, thin man in his thirties wearing a chef's toque.
The chef continues to circle the crewmen, his hands behind his back as if he's thoughtfully considering the situation. The other three, however, lunge as one.
The crewman with the flagpole catches the young girl in the stomach, lifts her bodily with the pole, and throws her screaming over the railing into the sea below. The crewman with the fire axe beheads the young man, but before he can turn, the woman with the curlers leaps on him and tears out his throat; he falls with a gurgle. The last remaining crewman takes advantage of the curler woman's position on the ground and drives the point of the flagpole through her eye.
It's down to the man with the flagpole and the chef. The crewman lashes out with the flagpole, but the chef easily sidesteps and brings his hands out from behind his back … revealing an incredibly long chef's knife clutched in his fist. Before the crewman can correct his swing, the chef drives the knife through the crewman's throat.
The infected chef is the only person remaining on the starboard side of the exterior deck. With nothing left to kill, he simply kneels and stabs the flagpole-carrying crewman over-and-over.
Despite the horror that you just witnessed, you notice that the crewman appear to have partially succeeded in the task that the captain set for them; a few of the lifeboats, which were suspended by davits directly above the deck, have been at least partially lowered.
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
Steve, holding his foot against the elevator door to make sure it isn't going to close, introduces himself to the rest of the group.
Quote:
Originally Posted by historiasdeosos
His eyes suddenly narrow. "Maybe my first mate's cabin. I don't think he … I don't think he had his card on him the last time I saw him."
"I think it's a great idea we all stick together—" Steve says without sarcasm "—and I'd love to beat those sick guys upstairs if we can."
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I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
- Dr. Seuss
Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
Spoiler
Sorry for the delay, trying to get caught up on work/school/GitP. Maxwell approves the merge and is ok with the plan, and will resume posting in character hereforth, I couldn't figure out where exactly in time we were for me to post now.
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"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." - Cersei Lannister
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Re: [GURPS 4e, IC] The Dying of the Light — Infection
Er, except Tal.
