It was as Dominic was waiting for Lorenzo to reply, with Dominic already suspecting that he hadn’t seen anyone else let alone his beloved Izzy, when an older man dressed in the same hospital scrubs as the rest of them, cautiously stepped out of one of the cells a short distance away from them. Not recognising the guy but figuring the more merrier, if only for the purposes of providing more targets for the dead to chase after, Dom would call across to him in a friendly voice ”Bonjour mon ami, takes a bit of getting used to doesn’t it?” he said gesturing to their strange surroundings before continuing once he was sure the guy had seen them ”my friends and I are going to make a break for outside, I’d recommend you tagging along at least for the time being…strength in numbers and all that” he said in accented English, waiting to see how the other man would react.

Johnathan looked at the man as he spoke, giving him a grandfatherly smile. From the cell, a teenage asian girl practically jumped out of the cell to stand in between him and Dominic, a wary look in her eyes as if expecting him to attack, but the older man put a hand on her shoulder.

- "It is quite different from how i imagined waking up, certainly."

He took his hand off of the girl's shoulder and rubbed his chin when he listened to the plan.

- "While i agree there is safety in numbers, i would advise against making a break for it. I do not remember much, but one of the things that did remain was that our attackers were remarkably well organized and equipped, even the fact they have sanitary gurneys and working electronics to spend on prisoners is telling. An escape that this group would be prepared for without knowing where we are, without weapons, supplies or even basic protection from the elements, would prove quite futile i believe."

The smile returned as he looked at Dominic again.

- "But where are my manners. I am Johnathan, and this charming young lady is Hearse."

When the girl jumped out in front of him, Dominic would give her a warning look as his body subtly shifted so he would ready to defend himself should she make the first move against him, with the still raw memories of the groups dealings with the Lost Boys meaning that he wouldn’t go easy on her or hold back. Thankfully however the older man would intervene before things could escalate with Dominic lapsing back into his usual easy going manner ”It’s good to meet you, I’m Dominic and these are my friends; Lorenzo, Hank and his brother Tom” he said by way of introductions before moving on to that of their escape ”normally I would agree but our window of opportunity is rapidly closing, and although our new friends would settle for putting us back into our comfy little cells, the dead are nowhere near as sympathetic…besides which I’m hoping we’ll find an armoury or a locker room on the next level and solve some of those issues” and if we’re really lucky a helicopter to give us a head start out of here he silently added before gesturing towards the stairwell ”Either way it’s high time we got moving, so let’s see what we can find upstairs mes amis”

Remembering to breath as he gently pried his brother off Hank gave the items Tom had found a quick look over. Unfortunately they required being way too close for comfort or getting the drop on a zombie. Against the living though....Better then nothing, I guess. I was so worried... Turning toward the others as the newcomers approached he put hand on Tom's shoulder as Dom made introductions. Nodding he glanced briefly at the small collection of writing utensils. Well, they do say the pen is mightier then the sword...but I'd rather have my crowbar back. Following Dom he kept one hand on his tray and the other on Tom.

It took Tom a moment to realize they weren't alone, a small smile forming at the sight of Dom and Lorenzo. Was this the whole scouting part? He hoped so, that would mean the others were likely still out there somewhere instead of trapped here. Looking over at the two newcomers he wondered briefly if they had a group waiting for them as well. When the others started moving he offered them their choice of stabbing instrument, keeping the metal tube for himself.

"I don't know that sward was pretty good" Dom replied with a sigh as he took a biro from Tom and gave it a dubious look, missing the familiar weight of the cavalry sabre he'd worn on his hip for much of his life in Zombieland.

Quickly heading up the stairs to the next level, the noise of battle, if not the sirens would diminish a little as they stepped out onto a landing similar to the one below. Where this one differed however was that there were fewer doors and, unlike those on the level below, were clearly labelled so that the facilities staff and by extension them could find their way around.

Immediately to the right there was a door leading into some kind of office or guard post judging by the large windows overlooking the floors below with another similar structure visible at the far end of the walkway. Between these there were another three doors, two of which requiring keycards "Well this as good a place to start as any" Dom quietly said before gently pushing open the door to the guard post, with his biro at the ready.

- "That i am doubtful of."

Johnathan turned to Dominic again.

- "All of us were secured in a cell with restraints. Given that we all awoke, found both our restraints and cell doors opened AND for there not to be a single guard in sight? No, this was planned. The restraints were electronic, they would have to be disabled on purpose as a power cut would have simply left them fastened. In addition, for a group capable of this level of organization to simply leave potential weapons lying around is unthinkable."

When Tom began offering weapons, he picked something that looked sturdy enough to double as a cane, and something sharp for Hearse, before handing the latter to her.

- "So from all this, i would conclude there was a purpose behind our release, possibly dating back all the way to our initial abduction. My gut says there will be a gauntlet of some kind, either against other groups of prisoners, zombies, traps or a combination of those."

The voice over the loudspeaker that was telling "Green Team: secure Sector Alpha.  Red Team to Sec-" is cut off with the sound of a loud door banging open and gunfire.  After that, the speakers are eerily silent but The cacaphony of noise from below continues to increase.  The deep thump of the bean bags has all but ceased.  The popping sound of pistols continues to go off amid shouting voices.  There is another scream far farther off as someone is leaped or pushed from a higher tier off to your right.  It seems that the zombies are spreading quickly and that is something you've never seen before.  The undead take time to rise: minutes at least, though occasionally it might be an hour.  They don't just pop back up and start attacking.  Yet, here they do.

@Hank:
Some of those guns might be handy.   A bean bag gun filled with pens and rulers might make a heck of a shrapnel thrower. Maybe even launch a few small teddy bears... filled with spikes of coarse.


@Tom:
As Tom considers the others, one of the piercing shouts from down below sounds awfully familiar. 

@Dominic:
Dom takes the lead, clearly intent on getting everyone out alive.  Wasting too much time here would only give the undead the advantage and being caught on an open catwalk with no way out but back into a tiny, single, patient ward would be certain death.

@All:
The motley crew head up, using the stairwell with the open door and leaving the bloodshed of the far one behind.  The sounds of other potential survivor's can be heard from somewhere at the bottom of the stairs amidst banging on something trying to get through the door.  Maybe it's these same muffled voices.  It's too unclear what they are saying amidst all the other noise.  Strangely, the stairwell is quiet by comparison.  With the security door (mostly) closed behind them, there is only the sounds of the voices beneath and an eerie silence from whatever is one floor above.   Rather than risk the sounds of death and chaos below, you head up the stairs.

The new catwalk isn't a surprise but you find doors and Dom leads you to them.  Your crew tries a couple ones that are still sealed by security.  The double doors at the center are open though.  You'd cheer, except for the fact that everyone can clearly see the security pad has a smear of blood on it. ... door open... signs of blood... an intercom system that went silent...

You head into a wide room labeled PROCESSING with some seats and an empty desk.  The trail of blood enters from where you came in, goes by the desk, and through a door on the left side of the room beyond the desk.  You can hear violent sounds from up that way.  There are two more ways out of here that can avoid going back the way you came and also avoid going to the left, they are: a freight elevator clearly labeled AERO and a security booth labeled SECURE ROOM.  Dominic finds the familiar security pad near the elevator.  You'll need a security card to access it.

@Hearse:
Hearse stands on her tip-toes to look through the small mesh grate of the SECURE ROOM window.   

@Jonathan:
Jonathan is sadly disappointed to find nothing as sturdy as a cane from the handful of small office supplies that Tom offers him, and the sharpest thing might be the edge of the ruler if Tom is willing to give that up.  In an experienced hand, that could open a jugular in a heartbeat like paper before scissors.

@All:
The sound of a gun goes off.  Unlike the distant popping of the pistols from the floor of the central area, this is close, within fifty feet, somewhere beyond the door to the left.  It goes off again, and again, faster and faster.   Most of you duck in wise ways but no one is injured and no bullets come this way.   In less than a minute, the bullets have stopped.  As you are beginning to stand back up, it happens again, a long series of shooting.   Apparently someone took the time to reload.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:22, Sat 18 June 2022.

Johnathan had been quietly listening to the sounds around them. The voice over the speaker hinted that their release may have been accidental after all as there was an alert going on, and while he did not know which sectors were appointed which colors -- or even how many of them there were -- he did frown when the sound of bean bags were replaced by popping of a much more lethal variety. It sounded like the defenders of this place were abandoning the plans to capture escapees alive, which was worrisome in itself.

After seeing what was on the other end of the mesh, Hearse motioned for Johnathan to come close and see for himself. When he did, a smile appeared on his face.

- "Gentlemen, i think we may have just found our gear. Unless my eyes deceive me, i see a number of shelves with labeled boxes on them, with the layout reminiscent of an evidence room, or organized storage at the very least. It would be a safe bet to assume our names would be on them, or some kind of identification codes assigned to us by this place."

He looked at the mesh grate, checking if it was large enough for someone to slip through if they could wrench the grating out, or force the lock with the assorted improvised weaponry among them. He was interrupted by the sound of more popping of a gun going off, though given its location and rate...

- "I believe someone with a weapon found themselves a perch to shoot from. They would not have shot otherwise, not alone. Let's keep it down, just in case."

He lowered his voice as he addressed the others, before going back to check if there was a way to open the door. The gurneys were drafty, he was looking forward to getting back into his old clothes.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:43, Tue 14 June 2022.

Using Tom's assorted collection, the crew work on getting the door open.  An old-school ruler pop's the lock and a careful bend to the metal ink reservoir lets you slide the internal chain lock off it's cradle.  A moment later you are in.

There are hundreds of boxes here and tossing some shows that most are plastic-bagged clothes and assorted personal memorabilia.  A few have knives.   Heading to the back of the room, you find the dead body of a soldier on the ground who apparently put a bullet through his head not long ago, and not wanting to come back. Her body is still warm.  She used a beretta and still has two full clips on her belt.

You are still in the room when you hear a familiar 'huffing sound' from back in the processing room.  As one, you all stop shuffling boxes.   There in the room is a soldier with a SWAT-styled ballistic vest, army camouflage, and he's covered in blood.  Fresh ichor drips from his fingers and his mouth as he looks around the room.  His head twitches left, right, and then looks over at the open door to the Secure Room.

"Raawrrrr!"  his jaw drops, and he lets out a menacing cry as he rushes straight into the confined room where you all are.

After cautiously eying the trail of blood going off to the left Dom would head over to where Johnathan and Hearse were by the secure room, not really wanting to know whose blood that was on the floor. Moving to peer through the mesh, he would nod in agreement to Johnathan's assessment "you may be right...let's see if we can get in here" he said before beckoning for the others to join him.

With a little bit of work they would eventually get the door open and gain access to the room beyond. As the others started searching through the boxes lining the metal shelving units would quickly locate the inventory log and begin scanning the pages for his patient number which he had found on his medical chart, in the hope to finding his things. After flicking through several pages he would eventually find it; Subject 2112-B personal effects, along with the row and shelf number on which it had been stored. Unfortunately before he could take more than a few steps, Dom would hear the familiar sounds of an approaching Zed with him looking up to see a dead and fully armoured SWAT trooper entering the room. He would have just enough time to utter the word "Merde" before the thing charged, with Dominic sprinting towards the dead SWAT trooper at the back of the room, hoping that the others could keep it busy long enough for him to relieve the body of it's weapons.

It doesn't take long to find each of the boxes containing your personal items, including weapons.  Opening a few boxes that aren't yours, reveals other things too.

- - - - -

Each of you may choose one other item/weapon that is particularly appealing to you and that might have been found among survivors.   Detail it in your description.

Johnathan was relieved to find his belongings again. Letting out a brief whistle to get the attention of the others, he pointed at a section of the room that had boxes stacked up close to the wall.

- "I believe behind those boxes would be a suitable place for the ladies to get dressed, if they are so inclined."

Hearse wasted little time in moving behind the boxes, already taking her clothes out of the box she was carrying. Johnathan in the meantime simply placed the tip of his cane on the ground and shifted his weight on it, with his back turned towards the boxes, waiting for them to be done changing so he could go next.

Tom paused briefly before following the others up the stairs. That yell, Was that...,  he glanced to the others to see if any of the Caravaners had caught it amongst the other carnage. They didn't, or at least didn't acknowledge it. He didn't have time to fully process it as Hank called to him to keep up.


As the others worked on opening the gate to what was essentially a gold mine he sat down at the desk and idly started going the drawers. It couldn't have been...could it? The sound of gunfire close by sent him under the desk, and the lack of bullets impacting the groups direction let him breath a sigh of relief. When the others got the gate open he started looking through boxes at random as Dom flipped through the log. Someone else could take gun from the SWAT member. The multi-tool he found went into his bag as he pulled out a shirt. With the only girl in the group currently behind a stack of boxes it was basically like changing for gym class.

Freezing at the all too familiar sound of a hungry zombie he turned to the other room. Crap. Grabbing the closest box he chucked it toward the zombie. Given how their clothes had been wrapped there was a chance it'd slip on the plastic bags. Backing toward the others he stayed to the side of the isle, pipe in hand, ready to swing for it's knees if needed.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:54, Tue 16 Aug 2022.

Heading up the stairs away from the blood bath below Hank turned to make sure they were all there. Make sure the door's closed tight. He called to Tom, waiting for his brother to catch up.

When Johnathan started talking about being taken for some sort of gauntlet Hank figured the guy had seen one too many movies. Given the strangely fast turning time and what NM had told him about the other lab his bet was they were meant to be test subjects. Though it seemed whoever took them had never seen Jurassic Park. For now the why didn't matter right now, the important thing was they got their supplies back and got out. They needed to get back to the others. The sound of gunfire from the other room sent him to the ground as flash backs of Slaughter surged forward. At least this time these didn't seem to be aimed in their direction.

Well, hopefully whatever they're shooting at keeps them occupied. Hank murmured as they worked the gate. When they finally made it into the room he followed Tom's example of routing through random boxes, pushing the thought these might belong to the people they left in the cells aside. Pulling what looked like an unused Life Straw from a bag he frowned as he pondered how well it filtered zombie particles.

The next box he pulled a crowbar, his crowbar he realized with a smile. Just in time too, as either the shots or their searching seemed to have attracted the attention of the dead soldiers undead partner. Moving to the opposite of Tom he readied himself to attack if it went for Tom or defend himself.

@Dominic finds a Glock 19m with two extended capacity clips.  The one on the belt is full, the one in the pistol is missing the one bullet the original owner shot himself with.  He also produces a plastic security card identification card which might be useful for the elevator.

@Tom's still gaining hold of himself as the zombie rushes in.  Only those with a keen eye would see how the young man's quick footwork pushed some bubble-wrap on top of the other plastic that was already in front of the zombie's charge.  It was the perfect amount as the zombie ran full tilt, landing a foot on the two sheets of plastic which acted just like ice on a frozen pond.  The zed loses all balance, careening off to the right and giving opportunity for someone close by to finish it.

Ever the gentleman, @Jonathan is still waiting at the back when the zombie enters from the front and careens into the computer station.  @Hearse hears the commotion but is only half in and half out of her changing making it particularly awkward to move, nevermind attack.   Lucky for her, she has Jonathan standing guard in case some killer makes it back this far into the room.

@Hank almost didn't recognize his crowbar at first because it's been scraped almost clean.  They didn't wash it though.  Clearly they just wanted various tiny samples of blood from it.  What could they be looking for?  He's still considering it as Tom sets up a block on the incoming zombie and it tumbles off to the side about 4 feet from Hank, setting up the perfect killing blow if he acts quickly.  He tests the weight of the crowbar... yup, still a perfect fit.  ...

If there was one thing Hank and Tom had learned surviving on their own before running into the Caravan it was how to tag team zombies. One or two at a time at least, any more then that starting drifting further into the "luck" category then he was comfortable with unless absolutely necessary. Any other time Tom's half-dressed scramble would have been Youtube prank worthy, titled something like "Kid scared with his pants down" garnering many likes. For now though it seemed luck was on their side as Tom sent the zombie sprawling. Seeing his chance Hank darted forward with an overhead swing with his trusty crowbar. Why they had wiped it down could wait for later.

As Hearse was getting dressed, Johnathan observed how well the group worked together in taking out the lone zombie, giving them a nod of approval. The more perceptive among them would notice the grip on his cane relaxing slightly. This was a group that had each other's backs, it bode well for the future.

Hearse had by now finished changing and emerged, the headphone cord of an mp3 player emerging from under her shirt to dangle in front of her chest by the collar. Johnathan took per place behind the boxes, now getting changed as well while his companion half-leaned against the other side of the boxes while keeping a somewhat wary eye on the rest of the group.

Killing the zombie is a stark reminder that this place isn't secure.  You finish going through boxes, almost a hundred, and judging by the way they are tagged, you learn that these are all recent.  It is clear that this is a temporary storage location where the items only stay for days.  It is also clear that firearms are stored elsewhere.

With dead-guards-badge in hand, and the screams of zombies in the distance you have choices that need to be made.

---

Players may find whatever they think is appropriate in the boxes, clothes, items, etc.  Take your story to the next point where you want input.  Remember, you have the zombies 3 floors below and coming up the stairways.  An elevator that needs an access card.  And you also have an office across the waiting room where the zombie came from.

For once Tom was glad there were no cell phones, giving his brother a lopsided grin before gathering the rest of his found clothing and finished changing. Once done he turned to the others, pipe in one hand and a small machete in the other. I think...Luke was down there... He said quietly, turning the new weapon over. It wasn't NM's which was a good thing, but the idea that Luke had gotten scooped up also didn't sit well, the weapon a reminder there could be others.

With the sound of the Zed behind him, Dom would wrench the Glock from out of the dead SWAT members hand before quickly patting down his pockets and locating a spare magazine and the man's key card. With any luck the guy had had a high enough security clearance to allow them to get the hell out of here.

Gun in hand Dom would return to where the Zed was only to find that the others had dealt with it already. There was a disappointed sigh from Dom as he turned to go and track down his box.

After a bit of rummaging he would finally find his things...well...most of his things, with his pistol and what little ammunition he'd having seemingly been taken elsewhere, an armoury perhaps? Either way dressed in his jeans, biker boots, Red AC/DC T-shirt and Leather biker jacket Dom felt far more like himself, especially as he had also located Christopher's sword. The Civil war era cavalry sabre hung from his waist giving him the look of a wasteland pirate, especially with the scar on his cheek "OK, I have a key card, let's go and check that office" Dom said to the others as he stepped out from between the shelving, still very conscious of the fact that they were still trapped in here with a horde of zombies.

- "A word of caution, if i may."

Johnathan walked up to Dominic after he announced his intentions to use the keycard.

- "In case there are any enemies on the other side of that door, try to keep a loose grip on the handle. Should they try and force their way through, you wouldn't want to end up getting pulled in and end up flat on the ground."

Dominic would take a moment to consider Johnathan's advice before replying ”Point taken” with him not fancying the idea of being sent sprawling into a room full of zeds. Cautiously back tracking the way they had come, Dom would head towards the office. Once there he would give Johnathan and the others a quick look to see if they were ready before pushing open the door and heading inside.

The group heads back into the main waiting area, the elevator nearby flashing "4" above it.  Most likely where the last person had gone to.  Following the zombies path was easy, there was something like soft crying from the direction he came.

The door to the office was open, and no one was immediately visible.  The room was disheveled, mostly around the desk area, where a high backed chair was knocked over, a lamp smashed on the ground, and the sounds were coming from the far side, out of sight.  The wall had an ominous splash of blood on it.

Rounding the desk, they could see the gasping form of an older man in what was once a beautiful charcoal grey suit.  Now it was ruined by the intestines stomach and most of his lower half that had been ripped open, presumably by the now re-dead zombie.  He was still alive, sort of anyway.  He was gasping for breath, wild eyed, choking to death slowly as one hand, covered in his own blood from where he had tried to push his intestines back in, now reached out toward you.

"He... he...hell... help..." he struggled between gasps to say.  In moments, he would surely die.  Moments later, he'll rise again, his pain gone, and a ferocious hunger the only thing he will know.

With one hand resting upon his sword, Dom would carefully push the door to the office so that it was fully open. Revealing a scene of devastation from where there had clearly been some kind of a struggle around the desk next to which they would find a man in charcoal grey suit ”you may want to wait outside” Dom said over his shoulder to Hearse, unsure how squeamish she was having only just met her.

Removing his hand from his sword he would instead draw his pistol ”sorry mon ami, there’s not a lot I can do for you” he said apologetically to the dying man knowing that even with a full surgical team he would be hard pushed to save the guy. Raising the gun he would fire a single shot into the man’s head leaving a neat hole in his forehead, with the least he could do being to make it quick.

With the room’s occupant now dead, Dom would turn his attention to the rest of the room hoping to find a computer or some paperwork that would tell him where Isabelle was, assuming of course that she was even in this facility. Failing that the usual food, weapons and medical supplies would suffice.