The Traci Situation (Part 3 Conclusion)

Traci stood in shock and horror, watching Kevin slump to the ground.  Alone she faced two zombies, which turned to face their final prey.  Their ragged pallid hands reached out for her, and Traci could imagine the horror of them grabbing her.
Finally snapping out of her shock, she fired her SMG, pulling loose her machete to face the undead...

Traci shoots the first zombie

Traci stands alone, Chad has died (and will rise as a zombie in 3 turns if Traci doesn't kill him) Kevin has been knocked OOF (I need to check for infection yet) and she still hasn't managed to enter the building of the RV dealer.  She manages to shoot the two zombies, killing one and knocking one down.  She follows this up by charging the zombie on the ground - easily finishing it off.

Traci kills the last zombie

Chad's body spasmed, arms and legs flopping on the road.  Traci saw the movement, knowing what it meant - Chad was nearing reanimation.  Slinging her SMG, Traci stepped over to Chad, pausing to consider this man she barely knew.
"Sorry."  She said, plunging her machete through his head, killing him before he could rise again and attack.  Looking around, Traci realized the area was quiet.  The midday sun was hot and the still air was making the day uncomfortably warm.  
Traci stood for a moment and looked back up the road she and Chad had walked down, what felt like a lifetime ago now.  She considered walking back, Jack would be happy to see her.  Dawn...would welcome her back, probably with a lecture.  Kevin coughed from where he lay, not getting up, but clearly injured.
Snapping out her daydream, Traci moved to check the car and get Kevin off the street...

Traci says goodbye to Chad

Traci is persistent at least.  She kills Chad before he turns and the table is empty of zombies.  Time to make the best of things.  I check the car - I give the same chance for a spare tire as the check for if it has gas.  It does and Traci will need to pass a simple 2d savvy check to change the tire.  The car has 1 unit of fuel and luckily has the keys in it!  Finally a break goes her way.

Only to go bad when I find out Kevin is infected...

Traci decides to check the building

Traci dragged Kevin to the relative safety of the car, pulling him into the back seat.  As she climbed out, Traci noticed blood on his jacket.  Pulling aside his coat and shirt, she found the bite mark.  Already the skin was darkening, black tendrils of corruption were tracing his veins and spreading like the roots of a weed across his chest.
Traci closed the car door, nearly in tears at loosing another companion so quickly.  Looking at the door to the RV Office, Traci unslung her SMG, making sure it was ready.

Traci enters the office

Traci enters the building and finds 2 zombies.  She isn't surprised, but the zombies manage to charge her before she gets a shot off.  Luckily she is protected and armed with a machete.  She makes short work the two zombies and moves upstairs.

Another zombie!

Traci wiped her machete blade on the tattered pants of the last zombie.  She glanced around the office and decided to check the rest of the building before trying to search for anything useful.  Walking up the stairs, she reslung her SMG, the close quarters would make it difficult to use.
At the top of the stairs, she glanced at the mess of boxes and folding chairs, just catching the motion from the open doorway as a teenage zombie lurched at her.  Traci reacted with a swift swing, killing the zombie with a solid blow to the head.  The rotten corpse slumped to the floor, dead.
Traci saw filthy sleeping bags and boxes of a small camp in the room.  Looking at the debris in the room, she found personal items of a family.  She nearly broke down realizing the zombies she just finished off had been a family that ended up turned here together.

Time to change the flat tire

Traci searches the building and finds a luxury item.  She heads back outside and fixes the flat tire, passing a 2d savvy check.  The car has 1 unit of fuel, so now she has wheels and can leave.  Of course, she has to do something about Kevin (somewhere double came up and the morning became daytime and Kevin went to level 2 infection) plus she was actually here for an RV.  There are no zombies on the board, so Traci drags Kevin away from the car, and moves to check the first RV.

Traci moves Kevin out of the car

Traci left Kevin laying in the road.  She felt bad, but she knew he was already dead.  As she walked back to the car, Traci could see the fence was down to the RV lot.  Looking from the plain small sedan to the new red and white RV, she knew what she would rather try sleeping in.
Walking across the the road, the day's heat was starting to wear on her.  The humidity made the June day feel like the dead of summer.  After all the gunfire earlier, the quiet made her a a little nervous, she readied her SMG for action, just in case.  She hoped her decision to check the RVs wasn't a bad idea... 

Traci checks the first RV

 Traci opened the side door on the RV, Just stepping inside, she was shocked to see several boxes stacked around the interior, it looked like someone had started stocking the RV for a trip.  She took one more step when she heard the sound of a rifle being cocked.  From the back of the camper, she saw the barrel of a rifle pointed at her and a ragged man behind it.  "This is mine!  Git yo ass outta here and find your own!"
"Whoa!"  Traci said "I'm just looking for help."  She gave a cute smirk.
"You mean like with that other guy!"  The ganger replied, jerking his head towards the road and Kevin.  "Hell no!" 

Traci runs into a ganger

Well, that's what you get for exploring when you could just take the win and end the game...  Traci checks the inside of the first RV and finds a ganger inside.  The meet and greet goes poorly, and the ganger chooses to walk the walk.

In sight checks are tied

Both Traci and the ganger score two successes on the in sight check.  They will react at the same time, we'll see who hits the hardest...

Wow, not good

Traci heard the rifle fire, and the dull thud of the bullet slamming into the side of the RV next to her.  At the same time she was squeezing her SMG, which barked twice and clicked empty.  Time seemed to stand still as the ganger and Traci locked eyes, neither hit by the other's shots.
The ganger started to cock his rifle again, a grin spreading across his face as he realized Traci's SMG was empty.

A zombie approaches the gun fight

Traci goes out of ammo and the ganger misses his one shot.  Technically Traci should be outgunned, but I am treating her like a star, so she can't be outgunned.  Everyone passes 2d on the received fire check, the ganger rushes a shot and misses Traci, who has her machete out and charges.

Traci charges

Traci closed the distance to the ganger, who looked surprised that she didn't run away.  His rushed shot went into the roof of the RV and Traci swung her machete right for his head.  Catching the rifle just in front of the trigger, her swing sent the rifle flying back into the ganger's forehead and he slumped to the floor, knocked cold.
Traci kicked the rifle away and drew back the machete, ready to finish off the ganger.  She paused, looking out the nearby window and seeing a zombie shambling towards the RV.  She shook her head, and reloaded her SMG, drawing aim on the zed.

Traci and a lone zombie

So Traci wins the melee, easily winning in hand to hand versus the ganger.  She only manages to get an OOF result, and I choose not to finish off the ganger.  I know survivors and gangers don't usually show any mercy, but it just didn't feel right.  Traci reloads her SMG and kills the zombie approaching.  Searching the RV yields a unit of food, the bolt action rifle from the ganger, plus the RV has 7 units of fuel, but no keys!  She dumps the ganger out of the RV and works to hotwire it.  She manages to get it started, but the car alarm goes off, and zombies start showing up!

Traci lines up on the gate

It takes a couple of turns of driving and reversing to get the RV positioned to try and get out.  During that time doubles come up again (but no event) and Kevin passes away, he will rise as a zombie after 5 turns.  Traci guns the RV and rams the gate, which was a lot more dicey than I had thought.  The RV bash value of 8 versus the DV of 3 for the gate (reinforced door) and Traci gets some good luck, smashing it in one go!

Traci smashes the gate and a zombie!

Bouncing in the driver's seat Traci steered towards the zombie standing in the road as the chain link gate folded away in front of the RV.  With a gratifying crunch the zombie went under the front wheels.  Traci could see Kevin shuddering in the road, as well as Chad's pack in the backseat of the car she had considered taking earlier.
Slamming the brakes, Traci stopped the RV, determined to grab the pack and supplies before she left...

Traci stops in the road

Yeah, yeah, I know better.  All Traci has to do is drive away.  She is active in a running vehicle, has two units of food, plenty of fuel, no reason to stop.  However, Chad's pack is RIGHT THERE!  She can run, grab it, hop back in and speed away.  Easy-Peasy.

Of course, I DO have to activate for that to work...

Traci faces the first zombie as she gets out

This turns into a good demonstration of why you don't leave a vehicle running during the zombie apocalypse.  6d for zombie spawning each turn, even looking for sixes, is tough to ignore for very long.  Add into that suddenly Traci doesn't activate every turn, and, Yikes!  We have problems.

Two zombies attack Traci as she stands still

Traci handles the first zombie easily, but doesn't activate the next turn.  Two zombies get to melee, and thankfully she is well armed and protected.  She wins the melee, and finally gets to act.  I left the RV running, so each turn it is rolling 6 dice for zombie spawns, and the dice are pretty hot, with one or two zombies appearing each turn it feels like!

Traci grabs the supplies from the car

Traci misses another turn, and Kevin reanimates and moves to attack.  The zombies are closing in, and the running RV keeps bringing more and more.  I just need a turn of activation and a clear path back to the RV...

Traci watches the zombies approach

Undead Kevin attacks with help!

Traci shouldered Chads pack and stood up from the car.  She looked at the gas cap, considering if she could get the fuel out and into the RV.  Scraping on the pavement behind her made Traci spin around, machete at the ready.

Shambling towards her was Kevin, looking nearly grey from the corruption that had turned him into a zombie.  Traci paused, but only to setup her attack...

Just need to get back to the RV!

Traci passes 2d on a zed or no zed check, apparently she really didn't care about Kevin.  Even facing 2 zombies charging from behind, she handles them in melee.  More zombies are moving up, but she should be able to get back to the RV, if she can activate!

Traci takes down the closest zombies

Traci ran to the RV, throwing the full pack into the back.  She could see more zombies moving towards her from the lot, stumbling through the smashed gate.  She was worried that the sides of the camper wouldn't stand up to the pounding of the zombies.  She stood her ground, waiting for the nearest to come close enough to kill...

Traci has an opening...

I decide to take one last chance - Traci stops short of the RV and lets the two nearest zombies charge her.  If she had gotten in the RV she couldn't have moved and would have had 5 zombies attack the RV, so I thought this made more sense,  Traci takes the two down, gets a turn with no zombie activation and starts driving away!

Almost gone!

Slamming the driver door closed, Traci gunned the RV into motion.  Rather ponderously the RV moved forward, building up speed.  Looking right, Traci considered driving back to Jack and Dawn.  It wouldn't take an hour, and they would be shocked at what she found.  After such a hard day, Jack holding her tonight would be wonderful.
Traci turned hard left, heading for the highway.  She had left and wasn't going back...

Traci makes her escape!

So Traci succeeds in getting an RV, has plenty of supplies (three units of food and a ton of guns!) and no strings attached.  I thought for certain she was done for when I tried for the supplies in the car.

I will continue with Dawn, maybe we will revisit Traci in the future...

The Traci Situation (Part 2)

Heat was starting to rise as the day wore on.  Traci watched as rising heat from the road made the air shimmer.  Behind Kevin she saw a business-suit clad zombie shamble past a car wreck.  Gunfire was attracting more and more zombies to the area. 

Traci started to say something when Kevin whirled around and blasted the zombie with his shotgun.  “We should get off the road, or at least out of the open.”  He said, watching the zombie tumble to the ground.

Nodding, Traci agreed.  “Chad!  Let’s move towards the building!”  She yelled, and started jogging down the road, not even checking to see if Chad followed.

 

Kevin blasts a zed in the street

This is part 2 of the Traci side story.  The group is moving towards the office of the RV dealer, hoping to find a working RV they can use as a base.  At the very least, if the building is empty, it will make a decent camp until they can get an RV working.  Chad has been bitten and infected; he will see the infection spread on each doubles that come up for initiative, succumbing to the infection when the level of infection equals his Rep (3).  It’s been a bad day for Chad.

They are getting closer to the building

Traci fired a burst from her SMG, killing the construction worker zombie as it crawled from the wreck in the road.  She braced herself against the low brick wall, waiting for Chad and Kevin to head for the door.  Chad was lagging behind, clearly feeling the effects of his zombie bite.  She was worried he might just die right there in the road.
As if he could read her thoughts, Chad yelled "I'm still okay!  Just keep moving and I'll catch up!"
Kevin gave Chad a hard stare, nearly imperceptibly shaking his head.  "Yeah, let's keep moving."  He replied.

Zombies keep appearing as the survivors keep shooting

The group keeps moving, getting close to the building, shooting as they go.  Chad is basically just a zombie magnet, he can't hit the broad side of barn thanks to poor rolling and his lowered Rep.  Doubles come up on the next activation, Chad is now one step away from dying...

Of course.

Luckily (?) Chad is the one who has to check.  In theory, it should kill him outright, but I roll a 6, his full Rep is 3, and he would have normally been okay, so I keep him going.  Hopefully he can still die well.  I should try and minimize shooting, even with a 6 for zombie spawning, they are showing up much too often.  Traci is okay, but the guys are not going to just drop their guns, so I guess we'll try and shoot our way through this.

The survivors attack

Kevin's shotgun thundered next to Chad.  A zombie in the road shredded from the buckshot at close range, slumping to an ugly pile in death.  Kevin swore and struggled to reload, pulling shells from his pockets.  Chads vision blurred and snapped back to clarity as he wiped his brow with a nearly black left hand.  Traci ran past, stopping and firing her SMG at an unseen zombie.  Her reaction told Chad she had missed.
"Chad!  Just hang on!  We'll get these cleared out!"  Traci yelled, checking her aim.
Chad looked from Kevin to Traci, his body felt like it was on fire and his arms ached, although frighteningly he couldn't feel his left arm any more.  Chad lurched upright, bracing his rifle and ran around the corner into the road, firing at a zombie he could see trying to cross the street...

Zombie charges Chad

Chad is in bad shape, I admit I don't want him in the middle of Kevin and Traci, it's just going to be trouble when he turns, so I am going to move him out as much as possible.  He fires and misses (Traci does as well, apparently the delivery zombie is hard to hit) and misses his shot as the zombie charges him.  Going into melee, Chad has a decent chance - he is still alive, so he does get one bonus success and rolls 2d6 (1 for rep and 1 for brawler) and gets two successes.  The zombie only gets one, and Chad kills it!

Kevin reloads and zombies get closer

Traci spun around, hearing a crash from near the building.  Zombies were stumbling from around the side as another zombie stood up near the fence across from her.  It seemed they were coming from everywhere!  She took aim at the closest zed, firing a tight burst that smashed it's head.  "Stay close to me!  Shoot those zombies by the building!"  She yelled.
Kevin glanced behind him, seeing the undead coming around the front of the nearby sedan.  He didn't need any further encouragement to move.  Stepping next to Traci he turned and fired his shotgun, getting a couple of shots off before it clicked empty again.  One zombie was down, it's leg shredded from the blast, but the last zombie was still on its feet.
"YAAAHH!"  Chad yelled, running past Kevin, stumbling to a crouching position, he brought his rifle up in a solid firing position.  His rifled fired and the second zombie spun around and crashed to the ground.  Chad coughed and spat out a blackish bloody chunk of phlegm.  "I ain't dead yet!" he yelled at the zombies writhing on the pavement.

Chad gives it his all

It's a mediocre turn for the survivors.  Traci kills one zombie, Kevin hits one, knocking it down and going out of ammo (again!), leaving just Chad.  I have him move up, so he is closest and fire on the last standing zombie.  He rolls 3 sixes, and I just can't help but give him a chance, so I treat his shots as 'pathetic shots' and he gets a chance to hit - which he does with one.  It just knocks the zombie down, but I'll take it.  Chad at least hits something!

Unfortunately, doubles come up again, we get a random event and Chad expires from the zombie infection.  At least he went out fighting.  Apparently he hit more than the zombies when he last fired...

Not exactly a PC car, but it makes sense...

Traci watched in horror as Chad spat out another bloody mess.  Echoes from his rifle shots still sounded as he doubled over in a coughing fit.  With a gurgling scream he half raised up, and suddenly fell silent as he fell face first to the pavement.  Blood slowly pooled around him as he gave a single shudder and fell silent.
"Damn."  Kevin said, pausing as he reloaded his shotgun.  "Tough way to go."
Traci shook her head slowly, shock hitting her.  She watched as the two zombies slowly stood near the car, their arms still reaching for her and Kevin.

Those are some fast zombies!

You know, when things go good, you hardly notice, but a couple of turns of bad dice can make a whole game change.  The zombies get a free turn and then manage to win the initiative on the next turn after that.  The two stand up and charge Kevin, who can't shoot due to his shotgun being out of ammo.  I wish the bad luck stopped there.

Yeah, that's a bad day.

Traci felt like she was underwater, unable to move quickly enough to help Kevin.  She watched him swing wildly, his shotgun bouncing off the shoulder of one zombie.  Before he could recover, a zombie in a tattered camouflage slammed into him, bouncing with Kevin on the road.  Almost immediately, Kevin was unconscious.
The two zombie turned almost simultaneously towards Traci...

To be Continued...

The Traci Situation (Side Mission part 1)

Bright buttery yellow sunlight was bathing the road, making it a sandy color to Traci’s eyes.  The overgrown fields, trees and shrubs normally trimmed by this time of June showed how quickly nature was reclaiming the world.  It had been a long night of walking, but Traci kept moving forward, Chad following just a few steps behind.

Splitting away from Dawn and Jack (why didn’t Jack come with her?) had been tough, but Traci was sick of Dawn always wanting to keep moving.  They had stopped at plenty of farms, homes or even roadsides that would make for a good place to wait this out.  Any day now, the army was going to sweep through and clean this up.  Traci just wanted to go home.

“Hey, is that what you were talking about?”  Chad asked, walking up next to Traci and pointing at a billboard.  “It says next left, that can’t be too far away.”

Traci nodded, glancing at the sign for an RV dealer.  “This must be the spot I saw, there should be a camper or RV we can use for a home for now.”  Traci was a lot less sure than she sounded.  She was tired of walking and hoped this was going to be a worthwhile stop…

Traci and Chad have left Dawn and Jack and are looking for a place to stay.  They have been walking through the early morning and have put some distance between them and Dawn.  Traci at first just wanted to get away, but convinced Chad she had seen a dealership on the drive yesterday that had campers.  Whether or not this is the place she saw, there is a chance for them to find a useful camper or RV.

It is morning of Day 72; this is a rural area with an ER of 3.  There are three PEFs and 5 zombies on table.  I am using the ATZ:FFO rules, with the modified melee rules and tight ammo.  I will use normal searching/looting with draws from the risks and rewards deck.  Traci and Chad are on foot, entering along the main road, looking for a place to stop.  Both of them have packs, as they took half the supplies with them when they left.  They are both ‘grunts’ with Traci the leader.  I am giving Traci some star powers – she can react as a star, but doesn’t get a second attribute (yet?) and can be killed normally like a grunt.

Traci – Survivor Rep 5, Pep 4/ Sav 3; SMG and Machete (BAP as backup); body armor.  In her pack she has an assault rifle, shotgun, BAP, baseball bat, one unit of food and 2 luxury items.

Chad – Survivor Rep 3, Pep 1/ Sav 2; Assault rifle and Baseball bat (BAP as backup); no armor.  In his pack he has a shotgun, BAP, one unit of food and 2 luxury items.

Chad is fully loaded, Traci can carry a little more and both are anxious to be able to stop and rest.

Traci and Chad approach the RV dealer

The first couple of turns are uneventful, as the pair walk towards the dealer.  One PEF gets revealed as 'something is out there', increasing the ER to 4.  Things start to come apart when I get doubles, and a random event.

Traci swears something is out there

Traci was leaning against the SUV, watching the road and trying to shield her eyes from the harsh morning sun.  Several zombies shuffled around the area, some attracted to the pair as the moved along the road.  In the lot with the campers, Traci could hear the metallic scrape of the fence being attacked by a zombie.
"We should keep moving."  Chad offered, looking towards the small garage near the SUV.  "Let's check the garage and then keep heading towards the shop."
"Yeah, that's a..." Traci trailed off as she was looking at a zombie that had wandered from behind the nearby billboard.  She dropped her arms to her side, nearly dropping her weapons.  "No..." she mumbled.

This is going to be a bad day...

A random event comes up, and it's "Loved One" meaning a nearby zombie is a loved one and requires a 'Zed or No Zed' check.  Of course, Traci is the one who gets hit with this.  Somehow Beckie has managed to wander here after turning.  What a bad development for Traci!  She manages to pass 0d on her check as well.  At least the zombie is too far away to charge.

Beckie returns!

Chad decides they need to get into the garage, he is going to have to take care of zombie Beckie for Traci...

Chad heads into the garage

Chad tried the door, finding it unlocked.  He threw open the door, stepping into the must dark garage.  Garbage and junk littered the small space, looking as if it had been hastily searched or emptied before.  As he stood just inside the door, two forms rose from the junk, zombies!

Chad shoots one zombie

Chad isn't surprised by the zombies, and manages to shoot one, knocking it down.  His Rep of 3 is going to be a challenge.  The next turn the survivors go first, and Traci rushes in to help out.

Traci finishes off the last zombie

Chad is okay in melee, as he has the brawler advantage and a bat.  His shooting is pretty poor, the assault rifle gives him 3 shots, but he is missing more than hitting.  So far the noise hasn't been an issue.

Beckie gets closer to the garage

The zombies miss a turn, and the survivors search the garage, finding a luxury item.  Now if they can just find a working RV or if the car is functional, that would be good.  The next turn Beckie slams into the door, which holds, but two more zombies are getting close...

Beckie attacks the door

Traci placed the whisky bottle in her pack, tinkling with the vodka and tequila she had found with it.  Kicking around the box they had come from, she sent broken glass across the floor.  "At least these couple bottles survived, we can party later!"
Chad grinned, he was looking forward to being alone with Traci and no zombies trying to eat them.  "Sounds great!  We can have some fun."  Chad said.
A thud and shudder came from the door.  Through the window Traci saw undead Beckie pounding on the door, trying to get in.  Immediately he mood changed and she nearly wailed in sorrow.  "We have to get out of here!"
Chad watched the door buckle as it was slammed by zombie Beckie.  "Not this way.  Out the front!"

Traci leads the way out the front of the garage

Chad moves to take care of Beckie

Traci shoots and kills one zombie, Chad shoots and misses Beckie.  The next turn is all zombie, with two zombies getting to Chad in melee.

Chad faces down two zombies

An undead jogger flopped over the low stone wall to Chad's left as he tried to draw aim at the undead woman in front of him.  His hands were shaking from the fear of the dead so close and his shot went wide, missing Beckie as her undead arms reached out for him.

Chad Takes down the first zed

Chad has the brawler advantage, and facing two zombies, is in good shape - he is using his rifle, so no weapon bonus, but rolls the same number of dice, 4, in the combat and has a bonus success.  He wins the first melee by 1, leaving just Beckie.  This is always where my luck seems to go sideways, and this time is no different.  Chad looses the next round, but isn't killed or OOF, and fights another round down 1 rep.  He manages to win, but doesn't get the 6 needed on the infection check.  Chad is infected.

Chad wins, but is infected

Chad brought his rifle down on undead Beckie's head, splitting it open and finally killing her.  He took a deep breath, feeling a burning feeling in his left arm.  Looking at it, he was horrified to see the bloody bite mark.  Quickly tearing away his sleeve, Chad could already see the black tendrils on his arm of the spreading infection.
"NO!"  He yelled, knowing this was a death sentence.
Traci gaped at Chad, she never thought this could happen...

The next PEF moves forward

Traci stood stunned, looking at Chad.  She didn't even hear when the man with a shotgun stepped around the SUV, reacting only when he spoke.  "Do you need help?"  He asked.
"What?...  We, uh We're looking for a camper or something."  Traci looked around, quickly recovering when she saw the lean man standing there.  "Be a sweetie and give us hand?"  She asked with a smile and flounce.

We meet Kevin, a fellow survivor

The second PEF moves forward and reveals as a lone survivor.  We meet Kevin, Rep 4, armed with a shotgun and the medic advantage.  Traci scores amazing with her meet and greet, scoring 5 successes!  Kevin only manages 2, and joins the group!

Time to head towards the dealership

Kevin couldn't believe his luck!  Meeting someone living who didn't just want to kill him, and a hot chick at that!  Too bad for her friend, Kevin had seen plenty of those bites, he knew Chad might not last the rest of the day.  While part of him would miss another gun around, Kevin could tell Traci would be more fun one on one.
"My arm is killing me!"  Chad growled.   "Let's get inside and see if there is anything we can do."
Traci gave Chad a smile, encouraging him to continue.  "Good idea, sweetie.  Let's check in the building, maybe we can find keys.  At least get off the road."
Kevin finally took his eyes off Traci's legs when she mentioned the building.  "I went in there, but didn't get a look around.  There's something or someone inside."
After a hacking cough Chad managed to say "Well, let's be careful, but get moving!"

To be continued...