WEEK 1

[biteys]

WEEK ONE

❝Don’t panic. You’re waking up somewhere unfamiliar, but try to relax. You aren’t dead, and I don’t have any intention to harm you. You’ve just been selected for a very special mission. A delivery, I guess. I’d do it myself but… let’s just say I can’t travel in the state I’m in. Take the blue container I’ve left to where I’ve marked on the maps within eight weeks, and you’ll be able to go home happy. More than, really. Any time or place you want to go… I can send you there. It's kinda my thing. Think of it as your payment. Everything else you need to know, I’ll tell you in time. Know that I’m sorry that I had to resort to this, and I’ll pay for my sins in Hell.❞

!

the beginning of the end

That’s what’s playing on repeat on a tape recorder, when the survivors come to.

Characters will find themselves in a humble, American townhouse, which other than being a bit dusty, is still mostly clean. All characters will be sprawled out on the floor and furniture of the living room, in front of what looks to be a giant portal. Characters will also notice they have a seemingly indestructible silver wristband around their wrists, and they have nothing with them but the clothes on their back.

Take a look around, and you'll realize that everyone in the room is likely a stranger. Aside from the tape playing, there's little explanation or proof that what's being said to you is even true. For all you know, one of the people in the room could be responsible for you being suddenly taken here.

Exploring the house's many rooms will reveal that there are small stockpiles food, water, weapons (a few guns, a few bats, a few knives), and maps, along with a large, strange container of blue liquid. The maps all chart a route from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and sport detailed recommended time stamps on them. Strangely, the recommended path occasionally diverges into two separate routes.

Upon searching the house, Haru Okumura finds a set of notes, while Leontuzzo Bellone finds a separate set. They are free to keep these notes to themselves, or share them with the group.

Nothing has anyone's names on it — not the notes, and certainly not the supplies. Everyone will have to compete for the same things. Or maybe all of you can be civilized about this, before anyone goes hoarding weapons and food? Maybe you can even introduce yourselves, while you're at it. For some strange reason, every window and door in this place is locked (and impossible to break), and will be for at least 72 hours, as if someone wanted you all to be cooped up together for a time before heading out.

Most interestingly, in the deepest basement of the house, there's a room with a large, heavy dresser shoved in front of it… and a low moaning and banging emanating from the other side. The door’s slightly ajar, and a closer look reveals a zombie is the source of the sound. Context clues around the basement, like the PhD in interdimensional travel hung up on the wall (for a Dr. Bei), hint that the woman inside is whoever left you this cryptic message - the woman who brought you here, allegedly. But she's long long gone, only this monster left in her wake. It seems she was smart enough to lock herself away to prevent you from being harmed, at least... and it'll give you a preview of the threat that looms outside.

sewer diving

After 72 hours have passed, one and only one door unlocks – in the very same basement that the zombie of Dr. Bei can be found. It leads down to a dark, dingy tunnel that connects to the sewers. Not only is the smell awful, but (non-infected) rats scurry about, keeping to the shadows – but the smell of any of the food you've taken from the house will attract them. Careful!

The party will need to create some light to navigate their way out and keep the rats at bay, or they’ll be bumping around in the dark for quite a while. Now might be a good time to share if you have some matches, or a special talent for being a lantern. Mercifully, there's only one exit that actually opens down in this labyrinth, as if it's a route the Doctor designed to take all the time.

At one point, Puppy falls into the sewage, and loses something they brought from the house.

oh! that's a baseball

Once characters make it out of the sewers, they’ll be a day’s travel to the first mark on the party’s map: “Dodger’s Stadium.” The road they’ll have to hike to get there is winding, curvy, and uphill, which will give the party a good overview of the now dilapidated Los Angeles, along with the many abandoned buildings and cars that litter the place. The stadium itself looks to have been cleared of threats and fashioned into a safe spot a long time ago, as all entrances but one have been completely welded shut. The high walls keep zombies out, and the winding path up here deters most of them from even approaching.

Inside the stadium, there’s some baseball merch (and equipment) to scavenge, not to mention some really old peanuts! Delicious. Maybe there are even some old fireworks laying around this place. Setting up camp here won’t be very comfortable… but at least it’s very safe. A luxury the party won’t have for much longer, if the map is anything to go by. You'll be heading through the city, next, so rest up while you can.

!

week one objectives

➤ make acquaintances with your fellow travelers
➤ decide what to do with the zombie of dr. bei
➤ arm yourself with what you can find
➤ scavenge some portable food from the house and while traveling
➤ make camp at the stadium

code

Comments

stadium

[venomnom]

[Reiju considers the weight of the baseball in her grasp, picked up in her quest to inventory what's available to them. Then she glances at the bat and Gallagher.]

I've never pitched before.

[mocktails]

[ Gallagher looks Reiju over. Naturally she's seen her around in the house and on the way here, but this is their first time chatting. She didn't seem as important to check in on compared to some of the younger members of their (not-so-)merry band.

He braces his free hand (the one not carrying the bat) against his hip and shrugs one shoulder. ]

Only one way to find out if you're any good, right? If you hit me, though, at least try not to aim for the face.

[venomnom]

All right. Then . . .

[Here she goes.

As soon as he appears ready, Reiju angles her body to point a shoulder toward him. Twisting at the waist, she uses the momentum to boost her throw before launching the baseball with superhuman strength. The ball hurtles toward Gallagher and burrows into the ground beside him where she missed the bat, booming as it pulverizes and kicks up the dirt around it.]

[mocktails]

[ It's not like Gallagher knows much about baseballs or pitching them, but from what he can tell her form seems decent. He gets into position himself, mimicking what the Trailblazer would always do when swinging that favored bat around—

As soon as the ball leaves her hand, he realizes he's made a terrible mistake.

Thankfully, she kept to her word and doesn't hit him or his face. But when the ball burrows itself into the ground from the sheer strength behind its throw, the impact so loud it echoes through the stadium, even he can't quite keep his cool. ]

Whoa! [ He straightens out of the batter's stance and sends her a glare. ] Warn a guy, would ya?

[venomnom]

[Reiju straightens, watching the spot where the ball struck before she begins walking toward Gallagher. She couldn't have asked for a better result, she supposes.]

I'm sorry. I thought that was warning enough.

[Teasing as they might sound, her words are sincere as she closes the distance between them.]

Are you hurt?

[mocktails]

[ The tease seems to roll off of Gallagher like water from a duck's back, and as she steps over he moves to where the ball has embedded itself into the ground. ]

Nah. Your aim was a little off, but I'm gonna thank my lucky stars for that.

[ He rests the end of the bat on the ground and leans on its handle, almost like it's a cane. He could try and dislodge the ball, but that seems like a job better left to this incredibly strong young lady. ]

If you dial it in, though, you'd be busting zombie heads in no time. Then again, not sure you need the baseball for that.

[ That kind of strength is nothing to sneeze at. Of course he's curious. ]

[venomnom]

[He takes the development in stride, and she just as casually comes over to crouch down by the ball opposite of him.]

I haven't used a gun in some time. My aim leaves something to be desired, but it's good to have options.

[She prefers to fight from a distance if she can. Although the ball isn't ideal for her, it's a start.]

[mocktails]

[ Gallagher shrugs both shoulders, keeping an eye on Reiju. ]

Won't argue with you there.

[ It's never bad to have a trick up your sleeve, and if that trick is a ball thrown at mach speed, then all the better. Again, so long as she doesn't hit one of them. ]

What do you use, if not a gun?

[ With her kind of strength, it seems important that they get her armed. Hopefully she's already taken care of that back at the house, though their options had been limited. ]

[venomnom]

Poison.

[She peers into the hole where the ball is wedged in the earth, considering.]

I don't have the means to use it here. But I was trained in the sword when I was young, so I've settled for a knife.

[mocktails]

A lady of many talents, I see. That kind of strength, too — you're something else.

[ Gallagher doesn't know if she's even human, with how she threw that ball, but he isn't going to fuss too much over the details either. Penacony attracts all types, after all. ]

I tend to prefer close combat myself, but having at least a few people who can attack from a distance would be a help.

[ That doesn't mean it has to be them, though. ]

[venomnom]

[Talents that serve one purpose, and one only. Her smile widens a little at the dirt. Perhaps that's why she's here.]

There were guns at the house. I handed one off to someone with the skillset for it.

[mocktails]

And who was that?

[ It's good to know who's armed, and with what. Gallagher glances up to take a look at the rest of their motley crew, scattered all around the baseball field. ]

[venomnom]

The man with the ears and a tail. [Reiju lifts her head to scan the field with him. She figures the tail implies a different set of ears than their norm.] He seems to be a marksman of some kind.

[mocktails]

[ Gallagher glances in that direction and nods. ]

Ah, the Foxian.

[ At least, that's how Gallagher had categorized him from a first look. He hasn't actually talked to the guy yet, and it doesn't seem like he can trust anything he knows from his own background and experience to apply to his fellow "survivors." ]

That would make sense, based on what I know of his kind. They've got good reflexes and tend to be skilled with bows and other ranged weapons.

[ In other words, she made a good call. ]

[venomnom]

[She straightens her legs, standing.

It's a simple story, really. He asked, so she gave it to him.]

Are the two of you from the same world?