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week 6
WEEK 6
!home, home on the range
Last week’s events have understandably driven the group off the intended course — so this week will be about righting your little forest-beach-detour.
However, it seems the rain that began at the tail end of last week hasn’t quite let up yet. Mercifully(?), the worst of the storm looks to be over, which means the party will only have to be mildly soggy instead of fighting for their lives against daunting sheets of rain.
Perhaps due to a combination of poor weather, overexertion, and lingering germs in any of the places everyone’s been traveling through, Leontuzzo Bellone and Mark Grayson come down with the flu.
Covering a wide area of land between the lighthouse and the next marked place on the map are a series of abandoned farms and vineyards. Fruit trees and grapevines have all been left to grow (and overgrow) naturally, and with the party passing through at the height of summer, there are plenty of fresh peaches and grapes to be plucked from the foliage on the way. The rain has made the ground muddy and sticky, which may lead to some unfortunate falls…but maybe it’s worth it for a tasty treat.
Also in the abandoned farms are, of course, farmhouses and barns. There are stray farm animals here and there who have happened to survive through sheer luck, though there are no human inhabitants. No living ones, anyway: there are only skeletons, telling the tale that people died here long ago, perhaps of natural causes. One can only hope they did not succumb to the virus as so many others have. There are medicine cabinets inside the houses that have standard things like painkillers, cough syrup, and things of that nature, so it might be a good time to stock up.
As characters linger in the farms, they’ll also notice another side effect of their bracelets: throughout the entire week, they’ll be empathically linked to the other survivors, being able to feel their emotions as strongly as they would feel their own.
However, it seems the rain that began at the tail end of last week hasn’t quite let up yet. Mercifully(?), the worst of the storm looks to be over, which means the party will only have to be mildly soggy instead of fighting for their lives against daunting sheets of rain.
Perhaps due to a combination of poor weather, overexertion, and lingering germs in any of the places everyone’s been traveling through, Leontuzzo Bellone and Mark Grayson come down with the flu.
Covering a wide area of land between the lighthouse and the next marked place on the map are a series of abandoned farms and vineyards. Fruit trees and grapevines have all been left to grow (and overgrow) naturally, and with the party passing through at the height of summer, there are plenty of fresh peaches and grapes to be plucked from the foliage on the way. The rain has made the ground muddy and sticky, which may lead to some unfortunate falls…but maybe it’s worth it for a tasty treat.
Also in the abandoned farms are, of course, farmhouses and barns. There are stray farm animals here and there who have happened to survive through sheer luck, though there are no human inhabitants. No living ones, anyway: there are only skeletons, telling the tale that people died here long ago, perhaps of natural causes. One can only hope they did not succumb to the virus as so many others have. There are medicine cabinets inside the houses that have standard things like painkillers, cough syrup, and things of that nature, so it might be a good time to stock up.
As characters linger in the farms, they’ll also notice another side effect of their bracelets: throughout the entire week, they’ll be empathically linked to the other survivors, being able to feel their emotions as strongly as they would feel their own.
city escape
Once the group passes through farm country, you’ve finally made it to the outskirts of your destination, San Francisco. The map seems to suggest that you should travel along the east outskirts of the town along the bay, rather than directly through it — similar to how the party had stayed to the edges of Los Angeles.
Hordes here are similar to the ones in LA, though with the added difficulty that San Francisco is very hilly. Groups of zombies will chase the survivors uphill and downhill: they seem to have limitless stamina, so running up the hills and hoping for the best isn’t the best strategy. Conversely, they run full speed down the steep declines of San Francisco roads, which can lead to them completely wiping and possibly knocking you down with them.
Several zombies are also special: of the zombies that attack downhill, a handful have retained enough intelligence to simply stand or sit on abandoned skateboards and bikes, which increases their speed greatly. Of the zombies that prefer to attack uphill, they’ve learned that throwing anything they can find at their prey may slow them down — pieces of glass, bricks, and even shoes might be thrown at the survivors.
Henry Townshend attracts the attention of zombies in these hilly zones, forcing the need for a City Escape™.
Hordes here are similar to the ones in LA, though with the added difficulty that San Francisco is very hilly. Groups of zombies will chase the survivors uphill and downhill: they seem to have limitless stamina, so running up the hills and hoping for the best isn’t the best strategy. Conversely, they run full speed down the steep declines of San Francisco roads, which can lead to them completely wiping and possibly knocking you down with them.
Several zombies are also special: of the zombies that attack downhill, a handful have retained enough intelligence to simply stand or sit on abandoned skateboards and bikes, which increases their speed greatly. Of the zombies that prefer to attack uphill, they’ve learned that throwing anything they can find at their prey may slow them down — pieces of glass, bricks, and even shoes might be thrown at the survivors.
Henry Townshend attracts the attention of zombies in these hilly zones, forcing the need for a City Escape™.
fisherman's wharf + pier 39
Towards the end of the week, as characters continue taking the long way around San Francisco, they’ll eventually end up at the northeastern section of the city. More specifically, Pier 39, and the harbors it borders.
Here, after all the rain and gloom, the weather is a bit clearer, allowing characters to look out into the bay and see some marine wildlife that has kept away from the virus; there are hundreds of sea lions and seagulls here, though because they stay down on the rocks below the pier, the sounds of waves crashing drown out their incessant barking.
There are a number of abandoned shops here, and similar to the mall the group traversed weeks ago, many of the stores seem to be looted, but there are still goodies to be found here and there. With the wide variety of goods, from music boxes to candy to jewelry, there’s sure to be something that tugs on the heartstrings you’re all sharing this week.
Take a look around, find a souvenir, and maybe pick what store you’re going to be camping out in for the night?
This week, Ninety-Nine is infected.
Here, after all the rain and gloom, the weather is a bit clearer, allowing characters to look out into the bay and see some marine wildlife that has kept away from the virus; there are hundreds of sea lions and seagulls here, though because they stay down on the rocks below the pier, the sounds of waves crashing drown out their incessant barking.
There are a number of abandoned shops here, and similar to the mall the group traversed weeks ago, many of the stores seem to be looted, but there are still goodies to be found here and there. With the wide variety of goods, from music boxes to candy to jewelry, there’s sure to be something that tugs on the heartstrings you’re all sharing this week.
Take a look around, find a souvenir, and maybe pick what store you’re going to be camping out in for the night?
This week, Ninety-Nine is infected.
no subject
[Whether it's from the outside or the inside, those who remain awake have an eye open for potential threats. Being so far is good for scouting, but not guarding someone. Hella is nowhere in sight now.]
Is something keeping you awake?
no subject
[Just look at what happened to the bunker. This is a flimsy excuse, however, and with their similarities, Reiju probably recognizes this as hunter behavior - or at least a way of keeping people safe that isn't just watching closely over them.]
I'm a light sleeper. I wanted a chance to hear the water. ["A chance," she says, like there aren't too many of those.]
no subject
Relaxing, isn't it? No two waves are the same. You can watch the sea for hours and see something different every minute.
no subject
[The fear she's been feeling the past few days is still undeniably there, but it's tempered somewhat by a general sense of calm - and melancholy. If Reiju isn't close enough to feel it just yet, she might encounter it the closer she comes.]
no subject
That's good to hear.
[Her sincerity carries through the bracelets—an honest relief that Ninety-Nine should feel that way in such a terrible environment. If nothing else, Reiju is glad for her.]
no subject
In this moment, however, knowing that she could see this shoreline, an impossible geography in her past life, it's the closest to that seaside house she'd dreamed of just a few weeks prior.]
I'm going to become a monster soon. [She might as well just get it over with.] I don't know that we have the power to stop it. [With Hella's healing slowing down, she can't keep Ninety-Nine at bay - but she'll try, and that's why she can't know.]
no subject
The acceptance—resignation—remains. There's no fear on Reiju's end, but the echo of something like sorrow. Reality is seldom kind to dreamers, and she finds herself wondering what's going to happen now—what Hella will do, and how Ninety-Nine will respond.]
What should we do?
[What does Ninety-Nine want?]
no subject
Hella can't know. She needs to make it to the end. That's what I want to make happen, but I don't know how I'll change. [She may become a Corruptor before she turns into a zombie. Maybe what comes out of her will be wholly unique just like all the experiments the scientists had made from her body.] Mark is gone. There are two of you who stand a good chance of stopping me.
[Reiju and Gojo are the ones she knows will have the least issue facing off against her. It isn't that there aren't others who might be up to the task, either emotionally or physically, but those two are the ones who will do what they can until there's nothing to do.]
When it seems like I no longer recognize her, that's when it'll likely be over for me.
no subject
Mark is gone. Sooner than later, so will Ninety-Nine be. And maybe Hella was right in one sense of the claim, because in this moment Reiju can understand part of Ninety-Nine's sentiment. They've always been a world apart in her mind, and that's how they'll end, but at least she can infer the importance of this confession.
It's deeply unfair, yet unfairness has never stopped Reiju.]
What would it take to kill you?
no subject
[In a way, it's almost like she was never all that different from those monsters to begin with. She's more than just a beast to be chained up - being freed had helped her to understand that - but this foreign destruction of her body is more familiar to Ninety-Nine than it may be to some others.]
... If I succumb to Mania first, my body will start breaking apart, no matter how strong it is. I'll be like ash that you don't want to touch. Pieces don't come back. [She isn't sure what will happen with her double-infected blood or the sheets of corruption that might flake off of her twisted body. will twisted shades rise from the rubble, or will the lingering Mania spread? It's better not to risk it. Motionless, Ninety-Nine stares out at the water. It isn't what she wants, but by the time it will be, she won't be able to articulate that. It'll hang over the group like a curse if they knew, so why burden more than she has to with that curse?]
no subject
Something niggles in the back of her mind, settling not quite right where her thoughts sit. First, there's the Mania to consider. Reiju has little to no knowledge of it, but she understands the importance of maintaining a distance.]
I understand. [Inasmuch as she can.] Then I'll approach you in the event you must be stopped.
no subject
Thank you. [She doesn't say it often, either because she doesn't often have reason to or because she is unused to relying on others beyond her few weird partnerships.] You're strong, so I do not need to apologize if I try to kill you.
[And if it comes to that, if Ninety-Nine can no longer recognize any of them as the companions she wants to preserve - she will try to kill her.]
no subject
No need to thank me. [She doesn't give her consideration to become another weight on Ninety-Nine's shoulders.] As for what might happen, let us worry about what comes after. For tonight, think of yourself.
no subject
Ninety-Nine is silent for a while, letting the sounds and the breeze wash over her. For once, it smells much nicer than the persistent onslaught of death and fear that's followed them forever. Those things aren't gone for good, but the reminder that there are other things in the world is soothing. After that silence, she speaks again, looking for something she can't quite conjure up for herself.]
What should I think about?
no subject
What do you usually think about?
no subject
I don't know. I don't always think a lot. [She knows that many of the officials and employees at the Bureau even think that she's slow and doesn't understand complex things. They're probably even right. There are still a lot of things that she never had the chance to learn or even struggled to figure out. She's catching up on what might have been a lifetime of experiences in a world that was hostile to her from the moment she emerged into it.]
Food. Hella. Training in the combat simulations. Finding shapes in the clouds when they go by overhead...
[As she's listing things, however, Ninety-Nine seems to show genuine interest and care for all of them. Even if she considers the things she has to think and talk about minimal and uninteresting, they've been ways for her to learn about her own interests and slowly grow to express them.]
no subject
What shapes are those?
[Never mind that it's dark here: She's asking about the clouds from the past. More precisely, how does Ninety-Nine see the world around her?
Training is training. They probably had opposite experiences with food, growing up. As for Hella . . . She's Ninety-Nine's, but it's not difficult to see the light she holds within herself. What, then, do the clouds show to the person who is Ninety-Nine?]