week 7
WEEK 7
!getting to the bridge
This week’s main task will be crossing the very famous Golden Gate Bridge to get to a specific bay on the northern end of it. Getting there from the wharf seems like a short trek — deceivingly so. There’s a high volume of abandoned cars on the way there, which makes traveling along the roads a very slow task, indeed.
Inside the cars, there are occasional remains to be found inside, belonging to people who seemingly just starved due to inability of getting out of the city. From the looks of things, maybe when all this started, a lot of people were trying to flee north. Inside the cars, there are actually a number of usable things: spare guns, bullets, stale processed food still in bags, et cetera. You’ll just have to steal from these people who never stood a chance.
Further north, towards the mouth of the bridge, the congestion only worsens. Debris from car accidents, seemingly from people trying to zip around one another, makes traversing the terrain as one group impossible. The party will need to clear some of this debris in order to make it onto the main part of the bridge — preferably in pairs, with one person moving and one person on zombie watch. Upon closer inspection, there are zombies of the crash survivors still among this debris, who have been pinned in the same place for years….
Worse yet, all the noise as you all approach the bridge will begin to draw hordes from the city. Not just any regular sized horde, but a massive one, similar to the kinds that had roamed Los Angeles; hundreds, maybe thousands of undead. The group will quickly become overwhelmed if they do not find a path to squeeze through the debris before the hordes get to them; they can try their luck darting through and over crashed cars, but it’ll be a rushed and panic-inducing escape. Some may find it wiser to try to fight… but those that do will eventually become overwhelmed themselves.
Puppy and Ninety-Nine, who stay back to fight the threat, are eventually overwhelmed and consumed.
The only good news is that the horde cannot make it through the huge pile up as well as the party did; their rushed movements mean that they hinder each other in squeezing through the small spaces required of them. A steady trickle of undead will come from behind from the stopgap, rather than a rush.
Inside the cars, there are occasional remains to be found inside, belonging to people who seemingly just starved due to inability of getting out of the city. From the looks of things, maybe when all this started, a lot of people were trying to flee north. Inside the cars, there are actually a number of usable things: spare guns, bullets, stale processed food still in bags, et cetera. You’ll just have to steal from these people who never stood a chance.
Further north, towards the mouth of the bridge, the congestion only worsens. Debris from car accidents, seemingly from people trying to zip around one another, makes traversing the terrain as one group impossible. The party will need to clear some of this debris in order to make it onto the main part of the bridge — preferably in pairs, with one person moving and one person on zombie watch. Upon closer inspection, there are zombies of the crash survivors still among this debris, who have been pinned in the same place for years….
Worse yet, all the noise as you all approach the bridge will begin to draw hordes from the city. Not just any regular sized horde, but a massive one, similar to the kinds that had roamed Los Angeles; hundreds, maybe thousands of undead. The group will quickly become overwhelmed if they do not find a path to squeeze through the debris before the hordes get to them; they can try their luck darting through and over crashed cars, but it’ll be a rushed and panic-inducing escape. Some may find it wiser to try to fight… but those that do will eventually become overwhelmed themselves.
Puppy and Ninety-Nine, who stay back to fight the threat, are eventually overwhelmed and consumed.
The only good news is that the horde cannot make it through the huge pile up as well as the party did; their rushed movements mean that they hinder each other in squeezing through the small spaces required of them. A steady trickle of undead will come from behind from the stopgap, rather than a rush.
crossing the bridge
The main body of the bridge is clearer in terms of cars… but treacherous in other ways. The lack of maintenance and constant weight on the bridge over the years has worsened the swaying that occurs when winds from the bay blow over — it never feels truly stable, as the group traverses ahead. The ongoing rampage on the southern end of the bridge isn’t helping, either, as more and more weight tries to come on to the bridge.
Of the abandoned cars that are on the main part of the bridge, some of them have lost the ability to stay parked, and thus roll with the movement of the people on it and the wind.
Hella is hit by one of these rolling cars. Satoru Gojo loses their balance, and is nearly thrown off the side from the swaying.
The zombies that are trapped on the bridge do not often see humans, as there have not been people traversing the bridge in such a long time: it makes them less coordinated than the zombies that have adapted to the city, and less fast. It’s the obstacle course of debris and the unstable terrain that makes evading these ones hard, not their speed or hyper aggression. As Puppy and Ninety-Nine fight from behind, there are a few city zombies that make it through to advance from the rear steadily in pursuit. Some of them may be holding things they could have torn from Puppy and Ninety-Nine’s inventory (or body...), so there are a mix of threats.
Thanks to Puppy and Ninety-Nine’s sacrifice, only Sigewinne is infected.
Towards the end of the bridge crossing, the steel cables high up above start to creak menacingly. That’s right: the bridge is starting to collapse. Concrete crumbles, and metal bends — the only mercy the group is afforded is the collapse starts from the southern end, where the massive horde was. However, pieces of bridge and thick cable still fall from the sky indiscriminately, footing becomes even more perilous than previously seen, requiring characters to take risky jumps to survive at times.
In the final sprint to the end of the bridge, Vinsmoke Reiju is pinned under a falling beam, rendering them temporarily immobile in the panic.
Of the abandoned cars that are on the main part of the bridge, some of them have lost the ability to stay parked, and thus roll with the movement of the people on it and the wind.
Hella is hit by one of these rolling cars. Satoru Gojo loses their balance, and is nearly thrown off the side from the swaying.
The zombies that are trapped on the bridge do not often see humans, as there have not been people traversing the bridge in such a long time: it makes them less coordinated than the zombies that have adapted to the city, and less fast. It’s the obstacle course of debris and the unstable terrain that makes evading these ones hard, not their speed or hyper aggression. As Puppy and Ninety-Nine fight from behind, there are a few city zombies that make it through to advance from the rear steadily in pursuit. Some of them may be holding things they could have torn from Puppy and Ninety-Nine’s inventory (or body...), so there are a mix of threats.
Thanks to Puppy and Ninety-Nine’s sacrifice, only Sigewinne is infected.
Towards the end of the bridge crossing, the steel cables high up above start to creak menacingly. That’s right: the bridge is starting to collapse. Concrete crumbles, and metal bends — the only mercy the group is afforded is the collapse starts from the southern end, where the massive horde was. However, pieces of bridge and thick cable still fall from the sky indiscriminately, footing becomes even more perilous than previously seen, requiring characters to take risky jumps to survive at times.
In the final sprint to the end of the bridge, Vinsmoke Reiju is pinned under a falling beam, rendering them temporarily immobile in the panic.
the other side
With the bridge collapsed, and many losses on their hands, the group may be relieved to find that the northern end of the bridge seems… quiet. Almost eerily quiet. While context clues seemed to point to the fact that not many zombies have made it past the bridge, it’s another thing entirely to see it.
North of the city is full of what used to be nature conservatories and national parks, meaning that the terrain is oddly serene and beautiful compared to the terrifying perils of the bridge. Make your way down to the bay you’ve been led to, and check the map: your final destination is an island. It’s called ‘Alcatraz,’ whatever that means…
Wild crabs, fish, and birds are in abundance here, and none seem to be infected.
There are also a number of abandoned boats on the rocky shore, some manually operated and others with engines. It might be time to look for something that can fit all of you, and practice operating them. When night falls, the sky is clear and full of stars — look closely, and you'll see shooting stars here and there, twinkling against the sea of darkness. If only you'd have been able to make a wish earlier, right...?
Once you’ve had time to recover, it’ll finally be time to see where it is this doctor has led you all.
North of the city is full of what used to be nature conservatories and national parks, meaning that the terrain is oddly serene and beautiful compared to the terrifying perils of the bridge. Make your way down to the bay you’ve been led to, and check the map: your final destination is an island. It’s called ‘Alcatraz,’ whatever that means…
Wild crabs, fish, and birds are in abundance here, and none seem to be infected.
There are also a number of abandoned boats on the rocky shore, some manually operated and others with engines. It might be time to look for something that can fit all of you, and practice operating them. When night falls, the sky is clear and full of stars — look closely, and you'll see shooting stars here and there, twinkling against the sea of darkness. If only you'd have been able to make a wish earlier, right...?
Once you’ve had time to recover, it’ll finally be time to see where it is this doctor has led you all.
no subject
[She isn't giving up; if Ninety-Nine can make it across the boundary, then she'll be there. The hordes are coming closer, though; pebbles tremble and jump from the surface of the ground beneath their feet, and the air is moving differently. Her blood is already beginning to surge in her veins, preparing for the fight she can instinctively anticipate and feeding her infection-addled Mania. It's not going to be a pretty fight.]
Just be careful. There will still be monsters over there.
no subject
[ For the record. Maybe Milady can help clear some of the rubble on the other side. Enough to let Ninety-Nine through, at the very least. ]
no subject
[This entire group is filled with stubborn people. Neither of them may end up having a choice. Ninety-Nine could bait her to the other side and then take off, so Haru would have no reason to wait, but Ninety-Nine doesn't see the reason for using her predatory cunning to set up something like that.]
If others get across, you'll also be there to protect them. [Is that enough to convince her? Ninety-Nine has come to feel some attachment to all the members of their party, her very obvious biases aside. She can smell that same desire to protect in Haru, and she draws on it.] And if enough of them come, you have to move together.
no subject
[ The stubbornness of hers? It does exist. It runs deep. ]
Hella-chan--no, quite a few of us would be against going too far without you, Ninety-Nine-san. Even if we did, I'm sure you know she would be the first to insist we go back.