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

[kototama]

Well--alright. You sound pretty sure of yourself, so I'm not going to doubt you over something like this.

[She shrugs a bit.]

I'm worried more for you than the others here, but... it's nice you wanna protect everyone, too.

[mediator]

Thank you for the concern. Protecting everyone is the right thing to do. The more of us there are, the more likely our mission will be successful.

Plus, I need to get back home. I don't want to get fired from my jobs.

[kototama]

... "Jobs" as in plural?

[mediator]

Yes. I need to pay rent and I don't have any family, so I work a few part-time jobs during the week.

[kototama]

[... She reaches out to pat his shoulder.]

That's pretty rough, buddy.

[mediator]

[ he's surprised at the pat but doesn't flinch or draw back. ]

It's just capitalism. I've learned that much since coming down from the mountains.

[kototama]

Yeah, well. Capitalism can be pretty rough.

[...]

Jeeze, you sound like an ojiisan when you put it like that, though. "Coming down from the mountains"... did you live in some isolated little village?

[mediator]

It was more of a compound. There weren't that many of us. Most of the people there were my age or younger, and we had several adults and elders. I don't remember ever living a life away from there until I left, so I never realized how different the rest of the world was.

[kototama]

Wowwwwww....

[... It kind of sounds...]

That sounds really foreign to me. It's wild to think how different things can be in the same country, just in different parts of it.

[mediator]

Yeah, it was a huge shock to me. But you know, I'm glad I chose to leave. Even if I can never return, my world would never have changed. I wouldn't even be the same person you're speaking to right now.

[ he's learned and grown so much in a short time, and for that he's eternally grateful. ]

[kototama]

Oh, wow, that's a really well-adjusted approach! I like it, though. It's a pretty good mentality for approaching the future.

[She nods a few times, expression approving, hands on her hips.]

I guess we could apply the same idea to our situation right now, really.

[mediator]

Maybe. Do you have any approaches we could use?

[kototama]

Mmmmmm, well. I dunno if it helps, but I just kind of look at stuff like all of this as just a matter of luck.

[She sweeps her arm out to gesture to their entire situation.]

Anything outside of my control is like that. So--just bad luck we ended up here, and now we gotta deal with it.

That's all.