week 2

[biteys]

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.

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.

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.

!

week two objectives

➤ scavenge for your assigned items!
➤ protect and fight for each other
➤ treat each others wounds
➤ eat tasty canned food

code

Comments

subway

[bicth]

[ Oh, dear.... the scent down here is unfortunately quite familiar to her — actually, she's more used to things being like this than the alternative, having spent most of her life in the worst parts of the underbelly of society. Corpses, waste, and smoke were all parts of everyday life.

But, she's not ignorant to the fact that most people are affected by it. When she sees Henry's face paling, she tries to usher him through the door first before her instead. ]

Fuck, you're not going to pass out, are you? Let's at least make it to the next car...

[302]

[ oh no, the mean girl - he really doesn't want to get sick in front of her and lose whatever modicum of respect she might have afforded him after the situation with the teleporter and Dr. Bei. With a sharp inhale, Henry shakes his head. ]

I-I'm good - I was just thinking...

[ it's not technically a lie. His complexion is still bluish, but he shuffles forward as directed, wiping some sweat from his forehead with his opposite hand. ]

[bicth]

Oh, come on. Thinking about what? You look terrible!

[ In a "you look sickly way" and not in a "you're ugly" way. Once they're through the door, with some effort, Hella is able to slam the rusted thing shut, ensuring they won't be followed. ]

If you need to take a break, just say that... it's fine...

[302]

[ fortunately, he's well aware he probably looks terrible?! his looks are the least of his concerns at the moment, so her potentially calling him ugly doesn't even register. Henry shakes his head again, although he looks more hesitant. ]

I can keep going, [ he says, trying to be convincing. Is he?! ] Just... this is all really familiar...

[ he's also not trying to be cryptic, but his reticent nature combined with still being stuck in his head isn't helping... ]

[bicth]

[ Only then does her brow start to furrow in concern, thinking that this is less a case of cowardice, and more a case of bringing back unsavory memories. Hella is a lot more compassionate than her rough exterior behavior might imply; she lingers a little closer to him to press her shoulder into his side, the tiniest little thing she can do to help keep him grounded to the moment. She also slows her gait considerably, but she does what she can not to draw attention to it. ]

Luckily for you, it's familiar to me too, so we can take our time here in the back. Tch, nothing we haven't handled before, right?

[ She offers, the roundabout, indirect way of saying let's take it slow without alerting the other party members ahead of them. ]

Let me guess, the world you came from is similar to this one, huh?

[ She asks, softer and more patient than before. ]

[302]

[ yeah, he's surprised she doesn't give him a hard time - in fact, she's trying to be supportive. Maybe he just had a bad first impression of her. Henry tenses up at the contact, but it at least brings him back to the present somewhat; he tightens his grip on the rusty pipe, trying to remind himself to stay alert. Really, he shouldn't need someone half his age trying to cheer him up - it should be the other way around - but he supposes he's always been something of a loser, and the fact that he can't bring himself to say anything against her proves it, in his mind. Then again, maybe it's only because his thoughts are still straying to Walter Sullivan. ]

No, it's not... not the world I'm from. But... I've been to a world like this. I don't know how to explain it... [ a pause. It's weird to talk about this with someone who isn't Eileen. Henry had always just assumed the insane story would live between the two of them; it's too strange to share in good company. But, apparently, Hella knows, too. ] It was like I was in someone else's nightmare... but it wasn't just a dream. I know it sounds crazy...

'he supposes he's always been something of a loser' is sending me

[bicth]

[ She's silent as he goes on, keeping her eyes on their surroundings rather than directly at him, since she has a feeling that might make him more nervous. She's reminded of EMP a bit, who she always is giving a hard time — except for the times when she's scared straight of the dark or of imaginary ghosts. Hella knows when to take her foot off the gas... most of the time.

So, when she does answer, it's with an air of casualness, treating the matter like it's normal, despite how he says that it must sound crazy. ]

I've been to places like that too. We call them "Black Rings" — they make reality all distorted based on one person's mind. It's less crazy than you think.

[ There's a thud from behind them as a stray zombie futilely bumps into the door they've closed behind them, but Hella only spares it a backwards glance. ]

That and, well... the apocalypse already happened over a hundred years ago, where I live. Where I grew up, [ She bonks the side of her shoe against one of the train car's poles. ] Pretty much everywhere looks as shitty as this. Seems like a few of us are from places like that.

he's self-aware...........

[302]

A distorted reality... yeah, that's exactly what it was.

[ just hearing that is enough to make him feel a little less crazy, as she says. She even has a name for it. So it's possible - it's real - and it's happened to people other than just him and Eileen, even if those people are from another world altogether.

(He doesn't really know what that means. Maybe it's proof that whatever that cult believed is real. Henry would rather not think about it too deeply.) ]

Part of it was in a subway station just like this... [ their surroundings haven't gotten any less grim, and the thump from the door reminds him of that, but, as they say, misery loves company. Somehow, knowing there are others is comforting. ] We should - probably keep moving.

[ he didn't miss the rest of what she said, but he doesn't know how to reply to it yet - especially with a monster right beside them, even if it's being kept at bay by a door. ]

[bicth]

[ She gets what's running underneath what he's saying — the dinginess and general aura of the area around them is sending him back to that place he was at at that time, right? She remembers feeling similarly, any time she felt close to Zoya's black ring again. It was terrifying, so being reminded of it only rebirthed that fear.

The corner of her lip curls up, wry. ]

Yeah, we should, 'cuz this place'll come to an end pretty quick if we do. Not like it'll go on forever. [ See, they're already coming up on the next subway car!! ] It might look like that hellhole... but I guarantee the last one you went through was way worse than this.

[ Does she know exactly what that other subway station he went to was like? No, but Hella is certain that distorted reality will always reach levels of fucked up and scary that the real world just can't. That isn't to say there aren't things in the physical world that are horrifying or awful, but that distorted reality preys upon existing fears and twists them even further.

She's not especially trying to cheer him up or encourage him, but perhaps that's what comes through anyhow: that he's already survived far worse than this. This should be a piece of cake. ]

You got yourself out of there eventually, right?

[302]

You might be right... but I did get out.

[ it was pretty bad. This isn't great, either, but things sort of make logical sense, and there are other people around, which is nice. He can tell when he's awake and when he isn't, even if sleep brings little peace to him now. But he can't start thinking like that; he's sure that as soon as he starts believing this isn't so bad, it will immediately get worse. The memories of that place are like a sucking void. If he lingers on it too long, he's scared he'll get drawn back to that place - like he imagined he had just moments ago.

So he tries to think about what Hella said, instead, even if it's hardly a cheery topic. ]

Um... what do you mean, the apocalypse already happened?

[bicth]

Oh, a long time ago, an asteroid hit the planet.

[ Yeah. She drops this very casually — she was born decades after it happened, and she never knew what the world was like before the majority of it fell into disrepair. The world is just the way it is: she doesn't feel a longing or sadness for what it was before. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that she can't. ]

It caused this contamination to spread, "Mania." Mania has been causing all kinds of disasters and mutations ever since. Then all the countries started fighting over resources, and there was a nuclear war, and yadda yadda yadda...

[ She shrugs. Based on the distant way she talks about it, she wasn't alive for any of this. ]

Something similar probably happened here.