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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
c
But at least he's not getting faceplanted into the ground when their bracelets magnetize together, only throwing his arm out as Kotoha is pulled in.]
K-kotoha...
[The middle finger is valid, okay. He shuffles over from his sit—he had already been crouched down, tired, shifting through what supplies they've managed to gather—and puts his hands on her shoulders if she allows it, easing her back up.]
You okay?
Re: c
Hunky-dory over here!
Then she points at him. You?]
Re: c
Still, Henry tries his best to offer her a wan, weak smile. A little head tilt, too, questioning.]
Really wish things turned out differently. Um, did you... Is your throat okay?
no subject
She just offers a rueful smile in return, and waggles a flat hand back and forth in a clear "ehhhhh" sort of gesture.
Not so much right now, though she doesn't regret it.]
no subject
That furrow deepens somewhat, and he uselessly asks-]
What happened?
[Ah, wait, don't be stupid, Creel. Use your brain. He thinks for a moment, then tries again.]
Was it your powers?
[They're speaking-related, after all.]
no subject
Then she shrugs, exaggerated, trying very hard to convey that it is what it is, and she's not bothered by it. After all, she would do it again, and probably will.]
no subject
If it's easier I can try to find something for you to write with? Or...
[A beat.]
I can talk to you with my mind instead.
no subject
She doesn't hesitate, just nodding eagerly and easily. Her bestie's a telepath, after all; it's nice and polite of him to ask, but the thought of someone else reading her mind for communication's sake doesn't bug her at all.
If he taps in, it'll be in time to hear her think--Wonder if me writing in Japanese would be readable to Henry anyway.]
no subject
He eases into her head just in time to hear that wayward thought.]
...You know, I didn't think about that. [His voice resonates in her head, and his expression keeps that wan little smile.] Guess we could have drawn pictures instead.
no subject
Is that any better than just playing charades?
Thanks, by the way. Not being able to say anything was getting on my nerves.
no subject
And you're welcome. I bet it's annoying, especially now. Um... so what exactly happened?
no subject
I just overdid it a little with the kotodama. I'll heal up.
... It's just... Suzuha was bitten.
no subject
Oh...
I'm sure you did everything you could.
no subject
Yeah. I did. There's just only so much I can do.
I'm sure you get it. No matter how impressive our abilities might be, there are limits.
no subject
Henry exhales a shaky breath.]
I know. Even if we try to get stronger, it never seems like enough. I hate feeling like I can't protect the things important to me.
And...
[A surge of guilt. He lets the thought trail off, unfinished.]
no subject
And...?
no subject
I definitely wasn't able to help anyone. I... Mark was bitten because of me.
no subject
--how agonizing, to know so certainly that it was because of him.]
He was protecting you?
no subject
Yeah. The horde was on me, just like that, and he just swooped in and flew us off somewhere safe, and...
I guess he was bitten somewhere in all that. It happened so fast.
no subject
Then it wasn't because of you.
no subject
But I should have been more careful, then he wouldn't have had to help me at all.
no subject
You were only out there because you were being brave already. It's not your fault we're here, and it's not your fault there were zombies there.
And... it's definitely not on you that Mark made the choices he made, you know? That most of all.