Saturday, January 10, 2015

A Long way home- episode 3




 Episode 3 - Sam's day at work.
This is loosely based on the first Police scenario in Haven.  The major change is that noise will generate zombies.  In addition to this, as normal, a double will generate a random event (using colgar 6's cards) but if it doesn't apply then the double will generate a vehicle arriving at a random junction.

Sam was tired as he turned in for work the next morning.  Sleep had been illusive as he replayed the events of the previous day and he was also worried that the girls were out getting supplies.  His unease was not abated by other stories filtering in from the night shift.  They were not alone in encountering monsters (or zombies as people were now calling them, from the horror movies that were all the rage these days) and Laverne was not the only casualty the station had suffered in the last 12 hours.  Even worse, word was coming in from other stations and even other cities.  Zombies were multiplying , and multiplying fast.  Worrying times, indeed!
He met Harry at his locker as they prepared to go out on their shift.  No words were said about the loss of yesterday, they just shook hands, collected their gear and headed out towards their patrol car.  They hesitated momentarily as they reached it.  Laverne normally drove.
"I'll drive." offered Harry.  He quickly got in the drivers seat and started the engine.  As soon as Sam was aboard, he pulled out of the station parking lot.
Within a few minutes their first call came in.
"Be advised" the radio crackled "code 415 in progress at 337 Eastman boulevard. Screams have been heard on site"
A disturbance at a residential address. Sam looked at Harry, who just nodded, as he reached for the radio.  "Control, car 54 responding. ETA in about 5 minutes."  He sank back in the chair slightly as Harry floored the accelerator and the car lurched forward. Sam looked across at his colleague.  There was a haunted look behind his eyes, a look that made Sam hope that this was just as it seemed - a simple case of domestic violence.  They would know soon enough....
The disturbance had been reported at the house at the bottom of the picture with the red shutters.  The patrol car can be seen entering at the top of the road.

 Sam was pleased that everywhere seemed quiet as they approached the house, but the sound of their car sounded unnaturally loud in the quiet of the morning.
 In the distance a refuse truck rumbled down the road.  
"We are not the only ones to start work at this ungodly hour!" snorted Harry, almost like his old self . This reassured Sam a little.
 In the distance a figure on foot walked slowly after the truck, wobbling as if heading home from a good night out with friends.
the truck generated a zombie.
 Sam watched his colleague as he slowed the car slightly as he passed the much bigger vehicle.  Harry nodded to the other driver, then something about how the figure in the distance was walking drew his attention. His knuckles tightened on the steering wheel and the beginnings of panic began gnawing at the edges of his mind.
 With a throaty roar the truck accelerated down the road, the noise of its big engine filling Sam with foreboding. He looked at the figure approaching them.  His heart sank as he recognised the strange gait.
"Here we go again, Harry!" He turned to his colleague.  The fear was clear to see on his face.
 The truck generated 2 more zombie, and this was still counting day 2 as rural for generating them!  Oh well, at least something will happen in this one! :)
 "Harry, you going to stop the car?" Sam asked urgently. His Sergeant  showed no signs of hearing him, his fear filled gaze fixed on the figure in front. "Sarge! We are here.  Stop!" Sam was almost shouting now.
 The garbage truck disappeared into the distance. If they were to collect rubbish from this area today, they were certainly showing no indication of willingness to do so.
and it generates another zombie as it leaves! Thanks for that.....
 Sam wasn't sure if he was horrified or not as the car plowed into the stumbling figure  It made no effort to get out of the way and he could have sworn that at the last minute it actually leaped at the car, teeth drawn and fists raised, eager for the uneven contest.
 The sickening 'thud' brought Harry back from whatever dark place his mind had been in.  He quickly pulled the car to a halt and killed the engine. He looked out of the side window at the obviously dead thing in front of the car.  "That's the place, Sam." He said, indicating the building across the road.  "Lets get get in and get home as soon as we can.  No risks, you understand me?" As he left the car he added "Get the big gun again!"

 The noise of the patrol car generated yet another zombie, this time in the garden behind the house.
 The truck's last zombie coming out of this garden.
 Shambling figures began to make their stiff legged way onto the road, looking for the noises that had summoned them from their half life stupor.
 The two Officers quickly crossed the street and stood before the door of the house. Harry checked the number painted neatly on the side of the wall.
"This is it." he confirmed. A terrible groaning sound was beginning to build from further down the street.  Both looked in that direction. Figures could be seen staggering towards them, arms raised in anticipation of a deadly embrace.  Sam saw the uncertainty clearly on the face of his colleague. "You go in and see what's happening."  He suggested quietly. "I'll take care of these until you are out again. Try not to be long......"
 Before they could start, a zombie started coming at them, whatever senses it still possessed telling it that food was near by and causing it to speed up. Harry drew and fired in one smooth motion, both rounds taking it in the chest.  It dropped to the floor but still moved until Sam stepped forward and slammed the butt of the shotgun against its head.  It fell unmoving to the pavement.
 Sam looked at the group still making their way towards where they both stood.  He raised the shotgun and fired.
"The boy's getting good with that gun!" thought Harry as he watched the closest crumple to the floor, lifeless. He returned his attention to the door.  He knocked.
"This is the Police." He declared loudly."Please open the door."  He could hear screams starting inside the building.  He tried the door - locked
 He raised his boot and kicked the door.  There was nothing reinforced about its construction and it gave easily under the assault.  He cautiously entered, gun raised, listening for the screams.
 As soon as Harry had disappeared into the building Sam walked forward, intent on getting into range of the zombies while they were still in ones and twos.  His gun roared and one fell to the floor but almost immediately started trying to rise.  The others staggered past their fallen friend, onward towards the warm body in front of them.
 The nearest one raised its arms in anticipation of grasping its foe.  It flew backwards as Sam discharged his gun at it. It lay on its back for only a second before it commenced thrashing its arms and legs in an attempt to right itself.  Its companion gave it no thought as it moved past, lips pulled back in a silent snarl. Sam fired again but this time the weapon just gave....
 ..........a click!
 He fought down his rising panic, raising the weapon as a club just in time to fend of the reaching arms.  In the background he could see more zombies coming from the same garden the others had emerged from.
Inside the house, Harry moved into the kitchen, quickly scanning for signs of life.  A pool of blood coloured one of the work surfaces but nothing else was in here. 

 Reacting quicker than his opponent, Sam ran back to the patrol car to retrieve the other shot gun.  Glancing behind he could see more monsters zeroing in on him.  This was not looking good.  Harry had better be quick in there!
 Another scream made Harry whirl around, firing his pistol before he could stop himself.  He felt foolish, shooting at nothing.
"Come on Harry boy!" he berated himself.  "Too many years on the job to be behaving like a rookie!"
 Sam could feel the zombie getting closer to him. As he finally wrestled the thing free, panic making a simple task much harder, a city bus roared by.  It narrowly missed him, and as Sam looked up he could see the driver struggling with a zombie, trying to fend of its snapping teeth while still keeping some control over the bus.
As the bus came on a zombie was generated.  The scatter dice came up 'hit' so I ruled it was on the bus. Tough break for the driver!
 As the driver struggled keeping the vehicle going straight, zombies through themselves at it, looking at its passage as some sort of undead challenge.  A challenge that shear numbers swung in the undead's favour!  The horror of the things throwing themselves at him plus trying to fend off his attacker caused him to lose control.  With a squeal of brakes and a screech of tormented metal the bus rolled onto it's side, burying itself in a stone wall.
 Whatever sympathy Sam felt for the driver, he silently thanked whoever was watching over him as only one of his assailants was left standing.  One more was stunned but most were motionless on the ground. Still shaken from his lucky escape his shot went wide. His eyes were wide in surprise when the driver kicked the windscreen of the bus out.  He scrambled free, blood streaming from a bite wound to his neck, closely followed by his vacant eyed assailant.  Wide eyed, he looked at more zombies approaching from the garden opposite.
 Footsteps sounded upstairs.  Harry moved to the foot of the stairs. He took a deep breath then raised his gun.  He felt more scared than he had done at any point in his 25 years on the force.  

 Outside, the zombies started to move towards Sam again
 A wall of zombies approached the driver.  He frantically looked for a way out.
 The two zombies facing Sam charged.  His hasty shot took one to the floor, but not dead, while the other leaped at him.  Its snarling teeth were deceptively quick, but the butt of the shotgun was quicker still and with a sickening crack his assailant went down.  
 The Officer quickly moved forward and finished the other off with a swift jab of the shotgun.

 Fear coursed through the drives body, giving him inhuman speed.  He saw a small gap and went for it.  To his complete surprise he was through and running, his slower moving pursuers falling further behind with each stride.  The pain in his neck was excruciating!! 
 Upstairs, Harry opened the door to the first room he saw.  It was an empty bathroom.  He left and moved towards the next door.
 The driver cursed his luck as he saw zombies emerging from a garage further down the road.  He needed to speed up if he was to escape!
 Again a scream sounded, this time from the other side of the door in front of which he stood.  Harry opened the door and entered.  A woman tried desperately to keep a zombie at bay with a baseball bat. The Officer leveled his pistol.
"Don't shoot my Husband!" screamed the woman.  She swung the bat again as the assailant reached for her.  "He's not well.  Someone bit him yesterday and it's made him sick."
Harry had been in these situations before, or ones very similar.  If he wasn't careful he would have to fight both the zombie and its wife!  He flicked out his baton.  "Halt!" He shouted in his most commanding voice.  Some dim memory from its recent life made it hesitate and turn its attention towards him.  As it lunged at him, Harry swiftly brought down his baton.  The woman screamed as it connected with a sickening crunch.  
"It's alright Ma'am" Harry lied reassuringly, "He's just stunned."  To keep the pretense going Harry quickly cuffed the dead body with practiced efficiency. "We will come back for him when the medics arrive." 
He lead her from the room wanting to get back outside to see how Sam was doing.
"We need to find my daughter.  She ran of and hid when my husband started behaving strangely."
Harry's heart sank....

 Sam watched in amazement as the driver of the bus ran for his life.  He didn't think he would walk away from the crash, never mind escaping the oncoming zombies.  The undead trundled after him, moving away from the police officer. Sam was torn as he watched the pursuit.  Each zombie that gave chase made his life a little easier, but the sign on the car said 'protect and serve".
He stepped forward and fired.  One pursuer dropped unmoving and the others turned to face him, the driver forgotten.
 With deceptive speed, the monsters closed the gap.  Sam's gun roared again and a figure dropped, only to start rising again.  That last detail was lost on Sam, however, as he fought for his life against two assailants.
 Swinging his gun like a club, Sam manages to smash one, then the other. Images from yesterday, from Laverne falling torn by bloody teeth.
"Please hurry up, Harry!" he silently pleaded.
 The woman called out loudly  "Emma!"
Answering sobs came from the second bedroom, her room.  Harry quickly opened the door and made sure that nothing was amiss in the room.  Her mother pushed passed him, arms outstretched towards her distraught daughter.
 Sam continued to shoot at approaching zombie, yet for everyone that fell, another walked into view to take its place.  At least the driver seemed to have made good his escape.

 Zombies seemed to be coming from all directions.
 Worryingly, they started coming from different directions, making difficult to keep watch on their progress.  Again images of Laverne filled his mind.
 A zombie that had been stopped by a low brick wall managed to fall over it.  With a hiss it raised it's head, hungry eyes staring into the back of the unsuspecting victim.
 A wave of zombies moved towards Sam, his gun fired.  Zombies fell but they struggled to their feet again.

 More zombies answered the call of the sound of battle.  They came from all directions, the lure of fresh blood driving them.
 Sam killed one in melee.  Two others were close enough to charge.

 As they charge Sam shot one and it crumpled to the ground, then almost as part of the same motion he brought the stock around and brought it down heavily on the temple of the other.  No more stood in front of him.  Maybe he would survive this day after all, he thought grimly.
 Maybe it was a sixth sense that made him while around, maybe the rank breath on his shoulder.  Off balance, Sam almost fell but he managed to fight it off, then kill it.  More charged him.

 Shooting and brawling, he managed to stand his ground.  Until, finally, no more came.
 Harry came out,followed by a woman and a small girl.  He looked around at the piles of dead bodies that littered the street, especially where the younger Officer stood.
He blew out through his mustache.  "Looks like I had the better deal of it!" He said wryly.  "Come on, lets get in the car.  We will sort this all out down at the station."
Doors slammed, an engine started and the car pulled off making no effort to avoid the bodies strewn all around.

well, that's episode 3 complete.  I'm pleased to say that more happened in this one.  The world is quickly going down the pan. Sam had to fight some combats 4 times before he got a result - very worrying, and I'm not sure how much of a liability his shotgun will be when zombies are generated on more than just a six!
My moment of the game was the driver walking away from the crash, then passing 1 die and moving 12", activating the next move and passing 2 dice and moving off the board. A shame then that the bite to his neck will be fatal....
I hope you enjoyed this one as much as the others and I will try and play episode 4 over the next week.

18 comments:

  1. Yeow - that was tense! My heart was in my mouth for Sam all the way through that game, but he came through it all. And Harry rescued the wife and child as well - kudos to both cops!

    If this had been Hollywood then the bus driver would have survived, however unlikely that would be in real life (well, as real as anything with zombies in it can be :-) )!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to admit I was slightly worried over Sam's chances of survival when Harry was taking so long inside! Maybe when he has finished being a cop he wont have to be so 'stand up' and can look after himself a little more. It was a shame about the bus driver - glad he got away though:)

      Delete
  2. Absolutely stonkingly good read CM. Must have taken you ages to get this posting put together as well. great scenery, models and write-up. Terrific :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. glad you enjoyed it :) the write up takes about twice as long as the game does to play! I enjoy doing it but have the luxury of being on school holidays for another two weeks. might slow down a bit once we start back, but we shall see!

      Delete
  3. Great AAR and a great write-up of the story... i hope that when i start my zombie campagn i can write as good as you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. in hindsight it would have been much easier to just write up what happened rather than try and turn it into a story. I just hope its not too badly written as to be unreadable. nothing harder to read than a second rate book!
      I look forward to your starting as reading about other adventures is a great source of inspiration.

      Delete
  4. Another thoroughly enjoyable batrep and overall, a good result for the Police. Nice to see you making extensive use of Stoelzel's Structures' scenery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The police did well today but many more zombies about than yesterday, or so it felt.
      I love Stoelzel's structures. I found them on your site and immediately found then easier to build than world works. I have more on the go but nothing as grand as your builds - i envy your skill and patience....

      Delete
  5. Great job dude! What a story, from such a routine call. Very nice table too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. Playing a few games has made me aware of bits of terrain I would like to add a bit of variation to the table, especially the colour of it. Am working on them when I get the chance and will put up some pics of my progress at some point.

      Delete
  6. Great Bat rep and excellent write up. You are doing a good job turning the game events into a story. Well done, keep up the good work!

    I thought they were in trouble when the zombies started getting out of control. Good time for the police to come out on top!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you :) Wasn't sure whether the story form would be a bit irritating for people to read.
      I thought that Sam was in trouble a few times. Luckily he had a shot gun and only generated zombies on a 6!! Might need a change of tactics as zombies become more common.

      Delete
  7. Very entertaning read, thoroughly enjoyable. and well done to Same and Harry !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They both survive to fight another day. I am considering following multiple characters in their post apocalypse journeys. I would like to know what happens to harry when everything falls to pieces.

      Delete
  8. Fabtastic batrep. Loving it keep it up :D

    ReplyDelete
  9. glad you liked it. Am trying to do next on but my table is out of action at the moment as I am sanding and painting a set of sand boards for a pulp egypt game i want to do soon!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great reports. I like your terrain and the story is unfolding nicely. You also do great to feel for Harry and the other PCs.
    Too bad for the bus driver though

    ReplyDelete
  11. was suprised the bus driver got away. He was lucky to activate first twice in a row! Not bad for rep 3!!

    ReplyDelete