Aberrant: Dead Rising - Chapter 11d: Go Home, Young Man

[Courier]

James got out of the Truck and at this question he looked at the truck, then back at the man and replied with a Texas twang in his voice, "We drove. But if you mean how did the truck get to this island then we had the Captain drop us off."

James added, "And I'm James, and we come in peace."

[Dawn OOC]

"Oh really? 'The Captain'? Captain America? Captain Planet?" the man quiried. "And 'James'? Lemme guess, last name is 'Doe'?" He shook his head. "Don't matter, you aren't welcome here. Get your 'Captain' to get you out of here." He straightened, his face proud. "These are our islands."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Dan found the power station - and found it running. He blinked in surprise, unsure what to make of it. Then he heard a noise behind him - a soft groan.

[Dan Hawkins]

Curious as he was about the online grid, He whirled around and brought up his battlerifle in a single motion. "Fucking Zombies even here." It went without saying but he was annoyed by the truth. He could see the hunched over form by the door a single arm against the door frame. "Speak up, Now. Who goes there?"

His own barrier flashed to life.

Click to reveal..

forcefield activate

(01:04:16) ChatBot: (Dan_Hawkins) rolls 6d10 and gets 6,8,6,5,10,1.

(01:04:24) ChatBot: (Dan_Hawkins) rolls 2d10 and gets 1,9. 4 success

+11/+11 L/B soak 15/18 total qp 24/26

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany opened her door and showed her hands as she got out so there wouldn't be any unfortunate misunderstandings.

"Hi," she said with a smile, shading her eyes from the sun. "I'm Myfwany Shattuck. We're just here as part of an exploratory venture...we didn't know there were people here. If you want us to go, we'll go. We're not looking for any trouble."

She offered her hand to shake.

"I expect Fox...he's the one leading us...may want to talk to whoever's in charge, if possible, but I won't put words in his mouth. In the meantime you all look very healthy, but I'm a doctor, so I'd be happy to help out if you have any need for one."

[Courier]

James replied without rancor, "What she said... but 'Doe'? Do I look like someone who could disguise himself with a fake name? If you need a last name, I'm DeBeer. And why the hostility? Is there a war or something going on around here?"

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

Kristin stayed in the truck, though she sat up straight, striving for every iota of her five foot two height, and gave the people a tentative wave. She wouldn't say anything, but she was a little discomfited that she didn't see any white people. Not that she was racist or anything. It's just, y'know? It felt like she was in a completely different country. She hadn't expected Hawaii to feel like that. Different, sure, but not that different.

[Dawn OOC]

There was less hostility when people looked at Kristin. It was hard to be mad at the wholesome looking young woman. And Myf also faced less hostility.

At James' question, the man started to answer him, but a woman interjected. "You've stumbled into a nationalist movement," she said, her tone dry. "Hawaii is now for "real" Hawaiians, though we do have a White Man's Island. You could stay there, if you are all looking for a home."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"What? Who's there yourself? I don't know you!" a querulous elderly voice said. The figure shuffled forward, then stopped still in shadows. “Is that a gun? You trying to rob a power plant? I don’t exactly have any cash bags for you to take it with you, though you don’t have to worry about dye packs.” There was a throaty cough followed by the sound of spitting phlegm. “Well, speak up! Old men don’t have time for young men to dither.”

[Courier]

James looked from the woman to the man and then back then asked in near wonder, "You have enough people you can afford to exile some over skin color? Did the plague touch you that lightly then? Oh, and which island is 'white' and do they take mixed groups?"

[Dan Hawkins]

The rifle lowered some, and Dan relaxes a fraction. "Glad you responded old-timer. Too many zombies where I'm from, a man learns to be careful."

He nods. "I'm not here to rob the place, I was actually here looking to make sure there were no problems. My friends and I were looking for a potential new home, and I know a good source of Electricity goes along way towards easing transitions."

"It's been pretty well maintained,for how long things have gone to hell."

He looks very serious. "The planes, what happened? this base should have a number of planes left, and all her personnel, are you the only one left here? I heard the drums when we first got here, and some of the others went off to check it out."

[Dawn OOC]

"This plant was left online," the man said, stepping closer. He was an older man, clearly of native island heritage. "We don't need so much power anymore, and this one was the easiest to keep running with a skeleton crew." He peered closely at Dan and then shrugged. "You're way too white to be allowed to settle here, boy," he said easily, "so I wouldn't get your hopes up too high."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Lana'i is for the non-Hawaiians," the big man told him. He didn't reply to any jibe that James might have intended. "You can go there and ask them if they'll take you."

[SalmonMax]

"All right, we may do that," Myfwany says. "In the meantime, do you know who we might talk to about the possibility of trading, or anything like that?"

[Courier]

James let Myf's statement stand, and he looked at the horizon where Lana'i would be and muttered, "Lanai... hmm..."

And this is why we study maps before going places. Lanai is one of the smaller of the big islands. It's very high on the list of 'small enough to be cleaned out, big enough to be habitable'. One small city also named Lanai. That's interesting. I was hoping worrying about race meant they had enough people to worry about race, but maybe not.

Injecting race into all this isn't a healthy thing. Long term they're setting themselves up for war. Janella is as dark as some of these people. I wonder what he'd think... of course if I really cared about this guy's opinion I'd tell him what it's supposed to be. Race-relations is a concern but there's a ton of other issues higher on the list.

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan looked at him. "Is the color of my skin really an issue in a world overrun by zombies?"

He shakes his head. "Clearly you aren't alone here, mind taking me to your settlement? Even if we can't stay, perhaps we can help each other. I'm a decent mechanic and a good Engineer."

[Dawn OOC]

"Oh, I'll take ya," the old man said. "We're supposed to bring all strangers to Hoku anyways, and you're a stranger." He chuckled. "But I'd be more worried that you're strange. You aren't strange, nice big white boy like you? 'Course you're not strange."

As Dan followed the crazy old man, he led him out of the building and started walking north. "It's a long stretch of the legs, stranger," the old man said. "Hope you're up for it."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"You'll want to talk to Hoku," the woman said. "I can show you there, if you'd like." She gave Myfwanny a friendly smile. When the doctor accepted, the woman turned and began to lead them northward. "So where are you from?" she asked before they'd gone a couple of steps. She stopped and glanced back. "Would you mind walking? We're not big into vehicles here."

[Dan Hawkins]

He nods. I'm fine with it, though I've got my Humvee, if you prefer to ride. He didn't really want to leave it, and hoped the old man's age would make him agreeable to it.

[Courier]

James walked without comment. It meant wherever they were going was close. James answered friendlily with his twang still audible, "Originally Dallas Texas, the creator of the word 'Big'. Of course Z-day kind of up-ended the idea that bigger was better."

James lost his twang and continued, "Since then it's been a 'avoid the big cities' kind of thing. Bunch of us wondered whether the islands had come through the plague better and what the zoms were like here. Whether someone had come up with a cure, or whether it was possible to clean out an island and live without fear of them a few years down the road."

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

Kristin frowned, worrying at her lip, but nodded at the woman. She parked her truck on the side of the road, then considered what to take. She decided to leave the shotgun behind, stuffing it under the seat, but slung her backpack and axe across her shoulders. Just in case - and she didn't think she could stand being unarmed.

Kristin hopped out of the truck, locking it behind her. It wouldn't stop someone determined, but it was something. Then she hustled to catch up to James and Myfwany and their guide. The wholesome yet eerily attractive girl gather second looks, these ones more wary. The mature curves and heavy muscles didn't belong to a girl with her youthful face.

"I'm from New Mexico," she offered, trying to ignore the looks turned her way.

[Dawn OOC]

The woman smiled at her. “New Mexico? Well, you have the tan for it,” she said gently. “You’re… one of Them, aren’t you? You’re as pretty as Kanoelani, and she’s like them.” She gave Kristin a shy smile. “What else can you do?”

One of the men walking close to James said, “We keep the island pretty clean right now, but they still come down from the volcano.”

James frowned at him. “Did you leave a bunch of them up there or something?”

“No, but we think they get up into the caves and we just don’t find them until they’ve infected someone.” He shrugged. “We keep working on it, and we’ll get them all someday.” At James’ look, he said, “Have you cleared your island yet?” The tone was two parts joke, one part sarcasm.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The old man shook his head. “No vehicles allowed on the islands. Nothing powered by pollutants. We’re running the power plant for essentials for people, but hope to shut that down in time.”

“Why?” Dan asked curiously.

“Because our islands can provide most of what we need,” the man said with a shrug. “If we stop wrecking it with pollutants and crap, we have a paradise to live in.”

[Dan Hawkins]

He nodded, secure that it would be left alone. "Let's go then."

It was one of those days, where the only living thing with him was an old man who was an Eco-nut. He laughed at the very thought of it. There were nowhere near the people in the world polluting, but he did se the point in it for conservation of resource purposes.

"Let's get on the hike then.

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

Kristin's cheeks faintly coloured with a blush, still not used to honest compliments about her looks and she returned the woman's smile with a bashful grin. "Er... thanks. Yeah, I guess, yeah, I'm - I'm one of Them. I can't do anything special, I'm just pretty strong and tough."

The sculpted muscles in Kristin's legs flexed in the warm sun as she walked alongside the woman, golden hair glinting like fire in the light, full, firm breasts bouncing slightly beneath her shirt. "Are they many, uh, Thems here? I haven't heard about many back at... home."

[Courier]

James rubbed his neck and said, "Hey, we've made progress. In fact we've killed so many I'd say we only have..." James paused, touched his thumb to his fingers like he was counting out a specific number, "...about 200 million to go."

James grinned and continued in a puzzled voice, "But down from the volcano is odd. It's not like they can breed. If this were an enclave I'd say they're getting in from somewhere. They don't need to breath... hmm... could they be washing up on the shores and then crawling up volcanic tunnels up there?"

[BlueNinja]

A hundred feet off Waikiki beach, and fifty feet in the air, a rectangle the size of a van suddenly seems to fall out of the sky, and through it come plummeting a man in a battered trench coat, clutching a small girl in his arms. A split second after they fall through the hole in the sky, the girl screams, blotting out whatever the man is trying to say. Two seconds later, they hit the water in a massive cannon ball, the man throwing the girl towards the shore at the last moment. Fighting his way back to the surface, he strokes quickly towards the girl, then stops to scan the shore before towing her the rest of the way.

Click to reveal..

Awareness roll (Per3Aware1 -1 wound penalties, MPer1, first die mega) 4d10 → [1,10,4,3] 1 sux, looking for human shapes, whether human or zombie

[Dawn OOC]

Adam coughed up some water while Julia just coughed. She was weeping, making little effort to support herself. Adam just kept them both up and scanned the shore, which was depressingly empty. Turning his back to shore, he pulled Julia to him and started to paddle for shore.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The old man grinned at Dan. "Try to keep up now, young man," he chuckled as he started walking at a good clip. He was spry for an old man, with no sign of age-related slowdown. Outside the building, Dan got a better look and realized that the coot wasn't as old as he sounded; maybe sixty instead of eighty.

"Eh?" the man said suddenly, turning toward the ocean. "Did you hear a little girl scream?"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"We have a few of Them," she said, "though I shouldn't call them that. 'Reincarnations' is what they like to be called. Our heroes born again." She smiled at Kristin. "I'd guess we have about twenty over the six islands."

The man shrugged. "Like I said, we're not sure where they're coming from. We clear them out, but occasionally someone gets bitten anyway. We're working on building a fence, but that's a lot of ground to cover. Everyone has been told to be extra careful; most of those who get bit are damned fools who go up there trying to find out what's going on."

[BlueNinja]

Originally Posted By: Dawn, OOC

Adam coughed up some water while Julia just coughed. She was weeping, making little effort to support herself. Adam just kept them both up and scanned the shore, which was depressingly empty. Turning his back to shore, he pulled Julia to him and started to paddle for shore.

"Look, Julia, zombie free!" Adam kicked strongly to keep them afloat, before backstroking towards the shore, his niece held tightly to his chest, her face out of the water. "I'm going to find us a nice hotel room, where we can sleep in a real bed and get cleaned up." Cautiously optimistic, he timed his strokes with the waves to approach the beach.

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

Kristin gave the woman an awkward shrug and an awkward smile. She didn't feel like she was reincarnated. She certainly didn't feel like a hero. Not anymore.

Hearing what the man said about the zombies from the volcano, Kristin looked over at him and asked, her hand unconsciously reaching back for the comfort of her axe. "Why don't your, um, Reincarnated people go check it out? They're can't get turned into zombies. Right?"

[Courier]

James said, "Hmm... if I were going to stay a while that's what I'd do. I can think of a few things which would cause this and they're unpleasant."

James thought, Super-zom? Super like Fox deliberately dropping off zoms? This sounds like an ice berg, much more than meets the eye.

Originally Posted By: Kristin Mackenzie

Kristin looked over at him and asked, "Why don't your, um, Reincarnated people go check it out? They're can't get turned into zombies. Right?"

James paid attention and thought, Very good question.

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan was suprised, but kept up easily. He turned towards the beach. "I did, come on." He kept the battle rifle ready, and scanned the beach for signs of life. He saw something moving in the water and began moving towards it. "I'm going to check it out."

He made his way into the water, up to his knees, remembering the beaches of Virginia, the stories of shark attacks and what not. He called out, "Is there someone there?" His rifle taversed the area around him, ready to shoot anything that should be dead.

"Call out again if you can hear me, I'll help you."

[BlueNinja]

Originally Posted By: Dan Hawkins

Dan was suprised, but kept up easily. He turned towards the beach. "I did, come on." He kept the battle rifle ready, and scanned the beach for signs of life. He saw something moving in the water and began moving towards it. "I'm going to check it out."

Adam caught sight of moving figures on the beach, mouthed a silent obscenity, and slowed his strokes to get a better look. Of course, then it started talking, and he hadn't yet heard a zombie who could speak English.

Quote:

He made his way into the water, up to his knees, remembering the beaches of Virginia, the stories of shark attacks and what not. He called out, "Is there someone there?" His rifle taversed the area around him, ready to shoot anything that should be dead.

"Call out again if you can hear me, I'll help you."

"Yo, over here! I'm swimming in. I've got my niece with me." Julia's head popped up a little bit, staring at the man with the rifle and his elderly companion as Adam kicked and backstroked closer to shore. About thirty feet from the shore, he stood up, boosting the girl to sit on his shoulders as he walked the rest of the way in. "Whoo, I'm glad that gamble paid off." He moves forward until he's also about knee deep, but staying out of arm's reach of the man with the gun. "I'm Adam, Adam Jeffries. This is my niece Julia." The girl lifts a hand to give a timid wave, and Adam pulls a revolver and a small stack of computer discs from his pockets before emptying them out. "Word of advice, the house odds in Vegas have taken a definite turn for the worse." Glancing up the beach, he gestures idly with the revolver in the direction of the old man. "Er, don't take this the wrong way, but I hope there's more survivors than just the two of you?" Noticing what he's still holding, he drops the revolver back into his pocket with a sheepish grin. Julia squirms down his back to drop to the beach, and peeks out from behind the trench coat.

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany listened, taking in the emerging cultural differences. Separated from the mainland only by months, but already they were developing a unique culture. It was really fascinating, but probably not as immediately salient as the situation with the zombies.

She added to Kristin's question, "What kind of medical expertise do you have on the island here? I've been working on the zombie question when I can, but I'd love to compare notes with a fresh perspective."

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan slings the battlerifle after Adam introduces himself. He nods. "Captain Dan Hawkins, US Marine Corps." He nods "You're from Vegas then? Ain't no way you drifted here." Inwardly he worked out this guy was another Super like himself and the others. "No we aren't the only ones, though the locals aren't exactly welcoming to people like us. I'm not from here either, but the community back home's got over two hundred."

He looks toward the Islands, We sent a team here as a recon, to see what was left. There's still survivors here, The man I was with was just taking me to see the rest. The rest of the team is out here too."

He looked to Julia, then to Adam. "You're clean right?"

[BlueNinja]

Adam and Julia both nod, and he leads the girl out of the water and up onto the beach. "No zombie bites on us, though I have a couple of scars." The girl gives a little hiccuping sob, and Adam pauses to bend down and give her a tight hug. "Um, I don't mean to impose on the hospitality, but is there enough clean water we could rinse the salt water out of our clothes?" Glancing over at the old man, he gives a pistol-free wave. "I'm Adam, and this is Julia. What's your name?"

[Dan Hawkins]

"The base is running, though I didn't get much further than the generator room." He looks to the old man. "We got abit for them to clean up, or do we have to press on ahead to the others?"

Mentioning the others jogged his memory.

"Such an idiot." He pulled the radio from the top of his pack even as he cleared the surf.

"Fox, Myfwany, this is Dan. I've got 3 civilians. Come in for SitRep, Over."

[Dawn OOC]

"I told you," the man who had been talking to James said irritably, "we go up there, clean them out regularly. Who do you think does that? Us poor bastards who can get bitten and infected? No, They do that, or at least the ones who can do it safely themselves."

"We have a clinic," the woman told Myf. "In fact, it get priority from our power plant, to keep the facilities going. We have doctors and nurses; everyone we need to take care of our population. We are in one of the smaller hospitals; the larger ones are just too big. If you want to know about their research, you'll have to ask them. I mean the doctors. Maybe you can do that before you go."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Clean water and the boss man is the same direction," the old man said. "Call me Mitch." As he watched them clear the water, he muttered, "Too damned old to change my name.

"Come on, then," he said, gesturing. "We have a bit of a hike. Someone will probably need to carry the girl unless she's a hell of a lot tougher than she looks." Turning, he started to walk, only to pause when Dan spoke into his radio. He waited as Fox replied, "I'm checking out the Air Force base. What's up with the civvies? Do you need assistance? Over."

[Dan Hawkins]

"Everyone's fine,gonna take a little hike, I'll stay in touch should anything of interest arise."

He looks back to the others. "He didn't sound suprised, He must have met other people as well."

He nods to Adam. "If you're too tired to carry her, I can."

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany nodded. "I'd like that, if it's allowed," she agreed.

[BlueNinja]

As Adam started to reach for Julia, she shook off his hand irritably. "I'm not a little girl," she said grumpily. "I can walk for a while." Adam held up his hands placatingly, and gestured to Mitch to lead the way.

As they walk, Adam says to Dan, "You're right, we didn't float here. Have you encountered people with powers since Z-day?" He watches the other man closely to gauge his reaction.

[Dan Hawkins]

"You could say that yes. You certainly aren't the only one. You should know though, there are other things with powers too, it ain't just us."

He turns to Mitch. "You've got them here don't you? People with powers no normal man has. That's about the only way to ensure long-term survival."

[BlueNinja]

Adam and Julia both shiver reflexively as Dan mentions other 'thinigs' with powers. "Yeah, we've seen them. Our home ... that's what happened to it. Zombies that could disappear from one place, and reappear in another." His face had an expression somewhere between a grim smile and a rictus of fear. Julia whimpers, and Adam bends over to lift the girl into his arms. They continue in silence a few moments longer.

"I'm hungry, uncle Adam," she says quietly.

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan stops, reaching around into his field pack and pulls out a powerbar. He hands it to her. "It's not much, but they're all I've got for now. Be sure to pocket the trash, we don't want to upset the locals."

He starts moving again afterwards, ready to meet the other locals, and honestly intrigued to see how they're set up.

[BlueNinja]

"Thanks," Julia says with a tiny smile, then grabs the power bar and tears into it. Adam nods gratefully, and takes the wrapper to put in his own pocket.