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week 2
WEEK TWO
After allowing the party some time to rest at the stadium, it’s time to get a move on again. As per your mysterious benefactor’s (?) recommendation, the party will be splitting up into two groups, with one group traveling west to a hospital, and the other traveling east to a mall.
if you chose hospital...
To get to the hospital, characters will need to venture into more densely populated areas of Los Angeles – and that means they’ll be coming into contact with a higher amount of zombies. The hordes that roam here descend upon any living creature that makes too much noise, so you might witness an unlucky squirrel or cat get hunted down by these roaming threats. The bad news is that they’ll sprint full speed at you if they happen to catch sight – the good news is that they’re not very coordinated at pack hunting, and you may be able to outsmart them by weaving through the streets.
In a stroke of bad luck, Shoko Ieiri attracts the attention of a horde, forcing the party off considerably off course. Temporarily, hopefully. Detour!
Thankfully, there are several methods of getting to the front door of the location – parkouring atop or traversing inside connected buildings, for example. The zombies aren't the only thing that can kill you, though, if you're not careful; while traveling to the hospital, Auch Aubrey slips and falls to his death off a building. Remember Dr. Bei's warning, about not getting too far away from each other? The party will realize if they get too far away from his body (specifically the bracelet), it'll start feeling like their own bracelet is burning them at the wrist. Better go back — and either lug his body around, or lop off the bracelet somehow....
The area this group will travel through has many tourist attractions – antique stores, the Natural History Museum, old-school theaters, for example. For our sword wielders, there are some dated ones among the antique stores and museums; they're dusty, but they'll get the job done. There are other cool artifacts to "borrow" at these places, too, not to mention some history of what the world was like before all this happened.
And at the theaters? There's candy, DVDs, and cardboard cutouts from a variety of movies that were out when the fall of society came. Maybe there are minions there.
Once at the hospital, the party will find that there are a massive amount of zombies that have been trapped inside. Many are former patients or hospital staff, so several are wielding things like scalpels or crutches, and they are just smart enough to attack with them. To get around the facility to find the medical supplies you need, you’ll need to find a way to either distract the zombies, stealthily make your way around, or, you know, eliminate all of them.
As for scavenging, the hospital is surprisingly well stocked, as the high zombie count has made it hard to raid. Characters will be able to find bandages, medicine, surgical tools, and more, if they look close enough.
Of this group, Satoru Gojo and Mark Grayson are infected.
In a stroke of bad luck, Shoko Ieiri attracts the attention of a horde, forcing the party off considerably off course. Temporarily, hopefully. Detour!
Thankfully, there are several methods of getting to the front door of the location – parkouring atop or traversing inside connected buildings, for example. The zombies aren't the only thing that can kill you, though, if you're not careful; while traveling to the hospital, Auch Aubrey slips and falls to his death off a building. Remember Dr. Bei's warning, about not getting too far away from each other? The party will realize if they get too far away from his body (specifically the bracelet), it'll start feeling like their own bracelet is burning them at the wrist. Better go back — and either lug his body around, or lop off the bracelet somehow....
The area this group will travel through has many tourist attractions – antique stores, the Natural History Museum, old-school theaters, for example. For our sword wielders, there are some dated ones among the antique stores and museums; they're dusty, but they'll get the job done. There are other cool artifacts to "borrow" at these places, too, not to mention some history of what the world was like before all this happened.
And at the theaters? There's candy, DVDs, and cardboard cutouts from a variety of movies that were out when the fall of society came. Maybe there are minions there.
Once at the hospital, the party will find that there are a massive amount of zombies that have been trapped inside. Many are former patients or hospital staff, so several are wielding things like scalpels or crutches, and they are just smart enough to attack with them. To get around the facility to find the medical supplies you need, you’ll need to find a way to either distract the zombies, stealthily make your way around, or, you know, eliminate all of them.
As for scavenging, the hospital is surprisingly well stocked, as the high zombie count has made it hard to raid. Characters will be able to find bandages, medicine, surgical tools, and more, if they look close enough.
Of this group, Satoru Gojo and Mark Grayson are infected.
if you chose mall...
To get to the mall, characters will need to travel underground through the subway tunnels. None of the trains are in operation anymore, so they won’t be at risk of getting flattened – but the aged husks of the vehicles are still down here, rotting away. In some tunnels, it will be impossible to go around them, and you know the saying: sometimes the only way forward is through. Inside the trains, some doors that connect the cars are operational, while others are too rusted to move, forcing characters to climb atop the train to progress to the next car. It'll be a taxing trial, made worse by the fact that in these train cars, there are both regular corpses as well as zombified ones. The unpredictable nature of the functioning or non-functioning doors will making escaping the zombies difficult — characters will need to either stand their ground, or climb up to safety if they find themselves at a dead end.
Exiting the subways leaves one last test for this group: the stairs are collapsed! The light of outside shines through what is essentially a giant hole in the ceiling leading to street level. There's about a one story gap between the end point of the subways and the upper ground of the street, so characters will have to get creative with getting everyone up — using train cables? Throwing each other? Human pyramid?
Once at the mall just outside, the party will find that while there doesn’t seem to be a massive horde, there’s another problem: the first floor of the mall, which is below street level, is completely flooded. They’ll have to swim across the distance to the escalators, find a way to get across using debris, or some secret third thing. There are waterlogged zombies floating about in the water as well, who will swim violently towards you once they hear ripples in the water — they’re not subtle about going after you, and will thrash and splash and immediately let you know where they are. They're like people sized piranhas. Scary!
At one point, Sigewinne is pulled underwater by a zombie, and comes close to drowning.
As for scavenging, once they’ve scaled the escalator, they’ll find the second floor of the mall has definitely had its fair share of visitors, but there are still many useful things to find. There are electronic stores that have batteries and walkie talkies, clothing stores (like Hot Topic) that have some extra clothes lying about, and of course, the food court, where you’ll find canned and preserved foods from a variety of different cuisines.
Of this group, Suzuha Amane is infected.
Exiting the subways leaves one last test for this group: the stairs are collapsed! The light of outside shines through what is essentially a giant hole in the ceiling leading to street level. There's about a one story gap between the end point of the subways and the upper ground of the street, so characters will have to get creative with getting everyone up — using train cables? Throwing each other? Human pyramid?
Once at the mall just outside, the party will find that while there doesn’t seem to be a massive horde, there’s another problem: the first floor of the mall, which is below street level, is completely flooded. They’ll have to swim across the distance to the escalators, find a way to get across using debris, or some secret third thing. There are waterlogged zombies floating about in the water as well, who will swim violently towards you once they hear ripples in the water — they’re not subtle about going after you, and will thrash and splash and immediately let you know where they are. They're like people sized piranhas. Scary!
At one point, Sigewinne is pulled underwater by a zombie, and comes close to drowning.
As for scavenging, once they’ve scaled the escalator, they’ll find the second floor of the mall has definitely had its fair share of visitors, but there are still many useful things to find. There are electronic stores that have batteries and walkie talkies, clothing stores (like Hot Topic) that have some extra clothes lying about, and of course, the food court, where you’ll find canned and preserved foods from a variety of different cuisines.
Of this group, Suzuha Amane is infected.
rendezvous
After several days apart, characters will be able to meet back up at a spacious park in the northern part of the city. There are park ranger staff cabins that can be converted into temporary shelters with effort — and the area has a lightly wooded trail, which will make camping outside slightly more safe than if you were plain out in the open.
It’d be a good time to treat the wounded with the new medical supplies, and chow down on the food that’s been collected. Is there someone among the group who’s medical advice can be trusted? Is there someone who might be good at rationing or cooking the food? Everyone’s role in the party should start to become clearer.
There are probably a lot of things to discuss: what will you do with the infected? What's the deal with the bracelets? Reality of how dangerous this mission is will be setting in far too quickly.
Most annoyingly… after all that, some characters will find that moving north has caused their bracelets to inexplicably magnetize together at times, perhaps in response to everything that's happened. Due to this, you might need to help feed each other, or sleep next to a stranger. Hopefully you don't get stuck to someone you totally hate.
It’d be a good time to treat the wounded with the new medical supplies, and chow down on the food that’s been collected. Is there someone among the group who’s medical advice can be trusted? Is there someone who might be good at rationing or cooking the food? Everyone’s role in the party should start to become clearer.
There are probably a lot of things to discuss: what will you do with the infected? What's the deal with the bracelets? Reality of how dangerous this mission is will be setting in far too quickly.
Most annoyingly… after all that, some characters will find that moving north has caused their bracelets to inexplicably magnetize together at times, perhaps in response to everything that's happened. Due to this, you might need to help feed each other, or sleep next to a stranger. Hopefully you don't get stuck to someone you totally hate.
!week two objectives
➤ scavenge for your assigned items!
➤ protect and fight for each other
➤ treat each others wounds
➤ eat tasty canned food
➤ protect and fight for each other
➤ treat each others wounds
➤ eat tasty canned food
no subject
Finally, she closes her eyes with a sigh and shrugs a shoulder in response.]
Don’t really have a choice in the matter, do I?
[Stopping to rest just feels unfathomable for some reason. As if this was some big screw-up on her part that she has to make up for, and not just an unfortunate consequence of leaping in to help one of their own through this dangerous place.]
I don’t want to slow us down.
no subject
She feels the same way about Suzuha recklessly persisting despite her injury: frustration, the urge to choke her until she rests more, and a confident little flourish of pride. Of course she'd have that kind of confidence and pride.]
If you pass out, I'm probably the only one who can carry you a long distance. [That will slow them down. And she's already using cute mascot tote bags from the San*** store to carry a whole shopping trip's worth of goods. Yes, Ninety-Nine is assuming she's probably the most physically strong among them, not counting things like the giant woman Haru can apparently call into existence. It isn't ego, just practicality.] You should stay close to me.
no subject
Still, it’s best to stick with company, and if this woman is confident she’d be able to handle it if she does become a burden, then Suzuha is willing to believe her. She exhales slowly, then nods.]
I’ll try my best to stay on my feet, then.
[How long can one person push forward on sheer determination alone? Guess they’re about to find out. She shifts the shoulder of her good arm, adjusting the backpack to sit a little more comfortably.]
We shouldn’t waste time dawdling. Right?
no subject
[She's not good at this. She doesn't have anything comforting to say. Normally, that isn't a deficiency she cares about or notices. Right now, the only thing she can really bring to mind is just, "You're still alive."
It's difficult not to smell the blood, even beneath the rancid permeation of mildew and rot covering the mall - and them, by now. Ninety-Nine wrinkles her nose. If she can smell it, then any wild beasts that are still alive will hunt them down just as easily. The zombies might not be smart enough to track or hunt, but they might follow it all the same.
One of the metal grates has collapsed in their way, and the urge to simply pound through it is tempered only by the memory of how quickly the zombies in the water had turned toward the smallest sound, flailing and splashing. It only needs to be enough for one of them to get through. Ninety-Nine starts prying at the mesh with her hands, trying to bend or at least raise it from the bottom up. It isn't entirely jammed, but it's resistant, and her voice is sweaty and strained when she speaks next.]
Can you get below?
no subject
[The response is offered immediately, with only a cursory glance at the space being pried open at the bottom of the grate by Ninety-Nine’s efforts. A gap like that would be easy enough to scramble on through.
Y’know, if she wasn’t injured.
That little caveat doesn’t even really occur to her right away, though. She simply shrugs off the backpack hanging from her good shoulder to deposit it on the ground and crouches—and that’s when she starts to clue in, a little bit of light-headedness creeping in on her from the motion. Ah. Well. She casts a quick glance up at Niney-Nine. She should hurry, so the woman doesn’t have to strain for so long. It would be fine, as long as she’s careful.
So she settles more fully onto the ground, turning to lean back and work her way through head-first, then reaching up to push against the grate with her hand to help drag herself the rest of the way through. A little scooching back for that full clearance and, ugh. Alright, that… didn’t feel great. Still, she tries to keep as much of that from her expression as she can—though how convincing that is when she needs to take a moment before she feels ready to get back to her feet is up for debate.
It gives her an excuse to glance around at the area, looking and listening for any signs of activity. Anything over on this side likely would have been roused by the sound of Nintey-Nine wrestling with the grate, so Suzuha takes the stillness as a good sign. Finally, she pushes herself back to her feet, turning back to examine the grate.]
Maybe I can knock loose whatever’s jamming it on this side? [Would that even get it moving enough for her to get over here too? It would be best if they didn’t remain separated for long, because pride be damned, Suzuha’s suddenly a little worried about getting stuck in here, out of reach.] There anything you can see?
no subject
I don't see anything. [She squats, wedging her shoulder into the gap.] If the ceiling is already collapsing, it would bend the room. [She's been there before, in broken chambers, pieces of the roof torn down around her and electric doors wheezing where they were too warped to reopen.]
We've made enough noise. We could prop it instead. We might need to run, and I won't let you stay behind. [The last part is said so gruffly, her voice firm. The monsters can't see well in the low light, but the low light means the upper reaches of the storefront are almost completely black. She'll keep prying while they search, using the leverage of her hardened shoulder against the grating for what little extra space she can.]
no subject
All the more reason she should get moving so that Ninety-Nine doesn’t have to exert herself any longer than she needs to here. She turns to regard the dimness stretching out across the storefront before her.]
I’ll see what I can find, then.
[What there is tells the tale of some long-gone chaos, much like the rest of the mall. Broken down shelves, trash strewn about, old signage haphazardly overturned. All things to pass over, until she finds an old merchandising cart listing to one side against a row of battered shelves. She rights it, gives it a little test push—wincing at the low rattle it makes. But it’s easy to move despite that, which is about all she can ask for.]
Maybe this’ll fit? [It takes some careful maneuvering to drag it back over there, but she manages.]