Aberrant: Dead Rising - Chapter 4a: Blood and Darkness

[Priest]

Willie was quickly running out of options.

Get a rope out and throw it in? Slime might eat it.

Toss a pipe bomb in? Amongst the crates filled with explosives? Nah.

He raised up his rifle and approached cautiously the hole in the wall that James had made.

[Dawn OOC]

Black goo splattered, but it was hard to tell if Dan hit anything.

Willie could see James below him in the thick, black water, and the slime. Dan is shooting at a writhing mass of something.

[z-Jules WhiteElk]

Jules moved to stand next to Willie. Taking aim, she fired through the hole.

Click to reveal..

Jules' attack: 3 sux

1d10=4, 1d10=7, 1d10=10, 1d10=1, 1d10=3, 1d10=3, 1d10=6, 1d10=10, 1d10=1

[Dawn OOC]

Again, goo splattered, but it was hard to tell if something was happening.

A ripple in the "water" and something rose, arms outstretched as it lunged at James.

Click to reveal..

The creature got 4 sux on its attack. James, if you have a dodge, feel free to roll it and post it or tell me.

[Mr Fox]

Morgan saw the critter pop up out of the slime lunging for James and fired.

Click to reveal..

Attack roll:

(17:26:15) ChatBot: (Captain_Morgan) rolls 11d10 and gets 10,4,9,1,4,10,9,10,5,2,3. 5 sux.

Damage roll:

(17:32:27) ChatBot: (Captain_Morgan) rolls 11d10 and gets 2,9,10,8,10,4,6,4,4,10,5. 5 sux

Attack +2 for accuracy (added to original roll per chat conversation)

(17:50:53) ChatBot: (Captain_Morgan) rolls 2d10 and gets 9,3. 1 sux

Damage added for the gun being bigger plus 1 success from extra accuracy

(17:51:02) ChatBot: (Captain_Morgan) rolls 2d10 and gets 5,8. 1 sux

That makes 6 sux lethal.

[Courier]

As James floated over the roof he made a realization,

*Misjudged the leap. This is Violet's doing. She boosted my strength, the same amount of effort now takes me further. Note to self: Check power levels 'before' field work if you've been experimenting with Violet the night before. Well at least I'm still going to land on the roof.*

Quote:

James' leap puts him on the top, but his landing and his weight bear him through the roof, into the room, to land with a splash in the water-filled basement. He landed on something, crushing it under his feet for a moment before it slimed out from under him with some violent thrashes.

James thought, *OK, that wasn't good. I'm too cynical to think this can't get any worse.*

James' Blade appeared in his hand.

Quote:

A ripple in the "water" and something rose, arms outstretched as it lunged at James.

James tried to attack what 'it' was before it could attack him,

Click to reveal..

Obviously if he doesn't have an action this won't work but...

Split Action Attack: 7d10.hits(7) [1,6,1,2,2,7,7] = 2 sux http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1938238/

So if this is a +2 diff or higher then it failed

Damage (if needed): 8d10.hits(7) [1,8,5,3,5,9,3,5] = 2 sux (12 with auto succ). http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1938242/

[Dawn OOC]

A nasty bullet hole appeared in the blackness of the creature, only to be swallowed by sagging skin. James turned as the shadow of the monster fell over him, and his blade came up. The creature impaled itself on it, its own force driving it onto the blade. But it wasn't without success; as it struck at him, James felt that burning pain.

Click to reveal..

James: 3 lethal

Priest and Colt: you're up.

[Priest]

Preist and Colt step up to the opening like a practiced team, almost in cadence. Their weapons pop up.

"Shoot all round him," Preist calls out and then the guns go off. The two men unload into the water all around their trapped compadre. They resist the urge to say "Die Mother-Fucker" because they don't know what the hell 'it' is.

Click to reveal..

Colt shooting at +2 difficulty (13:53:22) ChatBot: (Priest) rolls 18d10 and gets 10,2,3,9,5,6,9,3,6,4,9,10,9,9,2,​7,4,10 = 6 successes.

Colt's damgae(13:54:02) ChatBot: (Priest) rolls 11d10 and gets 6,6,1,9,6,5,5,10,3,4,6 = 2 successes

Preist shooting at +2 difficulty(13:55:17) ChatBot: (Priest) rolls 18d10 and gets 2,3,7,6,10,1,1,1,2,6,3,5,6,4,1,8​,5,1 = 1 success.

(13:55:49) ChatBot: (Priest) rolls 7d10 and gets 4,1,5,2,1,10,7 = 2 successes.

When they are done, Priest steps back and expertly switches clips. Colt's gun is still empty, for now.

[Courier]

Pain Again! Not a fluke! These mutant-zombies ignored his defenses. It seriously SUCKED he was running from so few zoms but this wasn't the first time he'd had to turn tail and it wouldn't be the last. Time to leave and go to ranged weapons.

Leaving his blade James attempted to leap out of the 'pool' and through the ceiling on the other side of the building.

{Q-Leap 1q, Regen too for 2q, pool 16}

[Dawn OOC]

Something caught at his foot and pulled at him just before he leapt. The force of his leap tore him away, and he tore easily through the roof. It gave like paper, and then he was starting to come down behind the armory.

Click to reveal..

He took no damage from that one, but he'll find three rotten fingernails caught in his skin later.

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan aims another shot into the muck around jaims, hoping this time to do a bit better.

((09:12:37) ChatBot: (Long) rolls 10d10 and gets 7,1,4,9,1,3,1,7,2,3. 3sux normal

(09:12:46) ChatBot: (Long) rolls 2d10 and gets 7,4. 2 sux mega

5 successes to hit total)

[Dawn OOC]

The muck splattered and bubbled, but as before it was hard to tell what was hit, if anything.

[Mr Fox]

Now that James was free and out of the building Morgan decided it was time to take a look around. He wondered if any of the weapons and ammo were still intact and retrievable.

Click to reveal..

Awareness roll to check out the interior of the warehouse:

(14:20:43) ChatBot: (Captain_Morgan) rolls 7d10 and gets 2,5,7,5,7,9,5. 3 sux.

[Courier]

James landed on the other side of the building and considered,

*Well that sucked! I do believe we've set a new standard, this was even worse than the anvil.*

He examined himself and his surroundings, *The bad news is I look and smell like I was just cleaning out a sewer. The 'good' news is self healing is confirmed. I'll have to thank Violet properly after I get back.*

James decided to forgo any more leaps and started to jog around the building. If he runs into any chain link fences he'll climb over them rather than cut through them.

James sent over the radio, "I'm fine and on the way back. But those things generate acid or something... and there's more than one of them."

(Regen -1q, pool 15)

Unspoken James didn't mention the unthinkable. He'd been exposed... maybe.

[Priest]

"Let's fall back and think this thing through," Priest says. At the same time, Colt pops in a fresh mag and points this rifle at the opening. Willie turns and watches the zombies at the fence.

"We need decide if we should detonate this store her to kill whatever it is and make sure it doesn't kill anything else. Getting anything out of there is not advisable," Preist continues. "I'm just saying ... or we could find a way to drain in and kill the sucker. It's slime was everywhere in there. I'm not liking our odds of making a profit here."

[Dawn OOC]

Morgan can see that this room is covered in slime. Only part of the floor had collapsed; there was a lower level, but it didn't have the same footprint as the upper level, and so some of the first floor was level with the ground. And promisingly, some of what Morgan can see are closed cabinets. There was some hope for getting some things out of here.

He can also see another, larger room. The door is open, but the slime hasn't migranted as far in there, and he can see the fender of an Army Jeep. Looks like the garage might have salvagable material in it.

[Mr Fox]

"It might all be a loss. I see some closed cabinets whose contents should be clean, and it looks like the motor pool might be ok as well. I'd like you guys to cover me and I want to try and pull up one of those cabinets. Dart in and back out. You guys up for that?"

He waited floating in the air above the collapsed roof for confirmation before going ahead with his plan.

[Priest]

Priest looks to his two men. They nod to him. This was some weird shit, but they knew they had some powerful people with them.

"Okay, we can cover you, but it's going to be tight in there for you."

The three men got into cross-covering fire positions for the area Fox would have to move through.

[Courier]

James sends over the radio,

"Make that 'creatures' guys. And if you hold your horses a moment I'll rejoin you."

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan shoulders his rifle and looks to Fox. "I can try to get through the door, or barring that help you bring up the case. I don't see this thing as being able to handle both of us, or catch us if we stay airborne."

[Dawn OOC]

Once James was there, Dan and Fox floated into the room and cautiously began to extract a cabinet. They had to be careful; the ooze began to itch within seconds of contact with skin, and the cabinets themselves were very fragile after long-term exposure. The things in the pool of ooze in the basement stirred, but didn't try to come after them.

But when they had it out on the ground, they noticed two things: the guns inside the cabinets were fine, so long as they were not splattered with the goo; and as the goo was exposed to sunlight, it began to dry out, forming a hard black shell.

[Mr Fox]

"Well, this is good. We'll grab more cabinets, and you guys start stacking the guns up and inspect them for any damage by that goo. Anything touched by the goo we don't keep, especially guns. A weapon that is compromised could kill the person using it. I think we can get more so we'll keep going and get as much as we can while you guys load up all you can. Once we can't carry any more we'll raid that motorpool and see what transport they've got."

[Priest]

Priest goes, "I have an idea, recently ... "

He squints into the darkness to see what he can see, trying to sense the aura of a living thing, or was that a powerful thing? Had he gotten those confused?

Click to reveal..

Using Quantum Awareness -1q/20 left. Seeing if he can see it's power through the goo on the floor as it moves.

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Dawn, OOC

But when they had it out on the ground, they noticed two things: the guns inside the cabinets were fine, so long as they were not splattered with the goo; and as the goo was exposed to sunlight, it began to dry out, forming a hard black shell.

James said dryly,

"Lovely. I'm going to lose these pants and I didn't bring a spare. Hmm... it might be worthwhile to try to expose that pool to sunlight."

Assuming nothing else happens, James alternated between covering the pool and carrying loads of stuff away from the building.

[Mr Fox]

Fox nodded. "Yeah, I'm torn about opening the building up to more sunlight just yet. We don't know just how hard that stuff gets when it dries yet. Once we get it all out I'd like to set some charges and blow the place that way the goo won't protect the critters in there if it hardens. On the other hand we might not have a choice. We'll see how things go as we get the place cleared of useful gear."

[Dawn OOC]

With an hour of hard labor, they had the cabinets that they could salvage cleaned out and their contents loaded on the truck. They'd also determined that the goo hardened until it was about as resilient as hard wood.

The only thing left was the garage - and determining what to do with the building and its occupants...

[Mr Fox]

"Ok, I suggest we clean out the garage of whatever is useful before we kick the ant hill." He smiled a dark smile, "And by kicking the ant hill I mean removing the rest of the roof and let the sun shine in. If anything will get a reaction out of those slime zombies that should be it. If the sunlight doesn't mess them up we can rig the place to blow."

((Were any explosives found among the cabinets?))

[Courier]

James suggested half seriously,

"Or I could fish in there with a flag pole."

[Mr Fox]

The captain laughed loudly. "I like it. You fish with the flag pole and get them to come to the surface and we'll put some lead into em. I still wanna salvage what we can of the motorpool first. I'm a firm believer in have shit ready in case we need to run before pissing off the natives."

[Priest]

"Let's not lose track of were the sun is in the sky. Mind you, fishing isn't a bad idea, but I'm not volunteering for bait-detail."

Priest seemed serious. He eyed the sun and looked at his watch. They were burning daylight. Would they have enough left to get the job done?

"Better to lose gear than flesh is my saying," he said to Fox. "I don't want my guys going in there until we know those bastards are dead - dead."

[Mr Fox]

Fox understood. "Yeah, I'm in total agreement with you there. Let's see what vehicles we can salvage here. I'll fly up above and come in through the room and look around in the motorpool. If it looks clear I'll see about opening up the big doors."

((Fox will head back up in the air above the building and over the motorpool and attempt to bust through the roof there and see what the inside looks like.))

[Dawn OOC]

Busting through the roof here took effort, but Fox was able to get in. This room was only partially touched by the ooze, but someone had already been here. Some of the vehicles are missing, and one of the garage doors had been forced open and then jury-rigged to remain closed after. Still, there was a lot of dust in the room - no one had been here in quite a while. Why they hadn't come back for the rest of the vehicles was an interesting question.

There was also something odd about the doors; something was attached to them. Fox was too far away, but they might be wired to blow from the inside.

[Mr Fox]

"There is something hooked up to the doors on the inside, I'm going in for a closer look. Does look like someone has raided the motorpool before us though. Dan keep an eye in here and watch my back while I check this out will ya?"

((Fox will drift down into the room and over toward the doors but will say a good way off the floor. He will also check out the entire room for possible bad things, he's not focusing on the door to the exclusion of things that might reach out and try and grab him.))

[Priest]

"Let me check it out first," Priest calls out. He comes around to the door and concentrates with all of his ability as he reaches for the door. Going first was what he was good at.

[Mr Fox]

"Be careful, I think it might be rigged with explosives, not sure if it is to keep us out or keep the critters in."

[Priest]

"Well, we are about to find out," Priest mutters. "Spidey-senses don't fail me now." For added measure he extended his senses beyond their normal range, into the quantum spectrum.

Click to reveal..

Both Premonition and Quantum Awareness active.

[Dawn OOC]

Priest reached for the door and his hair stood up on the back of his neck. At the same time, he felt the heat rise on the front of his body, while his ears rang with a phantom boom.

[Priest]

Priest steps away from the door one step, followed by several others.

"My guess is an explosive device, gang. We are going to have to find another way to the doors, and a way to disarm them once we are there."

He shakes his head.

"Pretty extreme unless they were planning to come back at some point in time."

[Courier]

James was barely decent, his pants had fallen off in stages as the goo hardened. Something about all this had bothered James and has he picked at his pants and wondered whether or not his boots were worth saving, he finally figured out what it was.

James said over the radio,

"Guys, when I fell into the pool I landed on one of them, and I got the impression there was another. If you take one step into a field and hit a land mine, the odds say that wasn't the only one."

"This isn't one super-zombie, this is a mutant strain of the virus. We could have dozens of slime zoms down there. Come to think of it, that would explain why the slime is so deep."

"As for the trucks, heck, let's cut a hole in the wall. We're not coming back here."

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan carefully watches the area, for Fox, and nods when the warning goes up of possible booby traps. "Let's get to it then." Once Fox returns he follows him up out of the hole.