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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
[ So, kind of rushing? But he thinks this is the best thing for everyone more so than himself. He can't let himself become a liability. ]
...What about you?
no subject
... I don't get that luxury. [ He probably shouldn't call it that, but that's what Soujuurou has. The luxury of getting to wait it out, telling the others that it's possible to come back for him. ] I can't risk getting left behind like that. If I lose my mind completely, I mean, my body can still fly, would be able to punch or ram itself out of something eventually... I can't wait for the others to come back for me, knowing what they'd face.
[ His voice is a little too bitter. He knows Soujuurou doesn't deserve it, he really does, but man, this sucks.
But for as much as he'd wanted to keep this quiet, Soujuurou is the closest thing Mark has to an empathetic confidant too, so... ]
This is the end of the line for me. I can't risk going any further.
no subject
Soujuurou can be a little simple, but he's not stupid. He nods. ]
I understand. [ It's sad, deeply so, and there's no comfort in it. Except, maybe for one thing: ] I hope you know you did a lot for us through this. You should be proud of that.
no subject
[ He looks away, towards a thoroughly unremarkable spot on the ground somewhere. He could have held out longer. Seen them through to the end.
Make it to the bridge so his death could maybe spare others.It's all just so inadequate, especially for someone who holds himself to a standard he maybe never would have been able to reach. What is there to be other than bitter and petulant? ]no subject
didn't get to sacrifice themselves at the bridge ]
Well, I suppose that's true. [ There's always more a person can do. That's the hardest thing about death - the finality, knowing you can't do anything else. Not for yourself or anyone else. ] But you can't think about the future anymore. You only have the present now.
[ this day, the setting sun encroaching, will be his last. why worry about what could have been or what will be? soujuurou knows he'll have that day soon too. ]
no subject
Not like I've got a whole lot of present left, so it's hard not to think about what's going to come after, even if I won't be around for it.
[ Even if I won't be around for it — it's shockingly easy to say those words now, now that he's come to terms with the whole thing. He'd be feeling some kind of way about it if he wasn't already resigned. ]
What about you? Are you really not thinking about what the group's going to go through after?
[ In the rest of their journey only, of course. Not about how they'll handle this emotionally, that would just be silly, ]
no subject
Well, it's a little hard for me if I'm honest. I'm not used to thinking about the future at all. Even thinking about what tomorrow brings is hard for me sometimes. [ a consequence of his upbringing, and a reason why he was told to leave when he finally did begin wondering what the future holds. ] But I have hope that everything will work out, so that helps me not worry so much.
no subject
Puff out a little sigh, try for a little smile. It is kind of comforting to be able to just be so open about all of this, in a way he's pretty sure he can't be with anyone else. ]
I hope so, too. I just... [ deep inhale. Mark looks up at the sky above, mostly clear, warm, something he isn't going to have much more time under. ] I wish I could help them get to the end. I think that might be what's killing me the most.
[ well, that and the actual virus itself, but. ]