The more people that step in to help, the more Trisha loses interest in the whole idea, briefly considering ditching the rescue altogether.
"Can we not make a big thing outta this?"
Pushing the hair off her face, she looks back at the rest of the group, obviously frustrated by the situation.

"Ed you can't come." She states bluntly. "Regina tell him he can't come, he's too hurt." She looks to the doctor for affirmation, hoping her authority might convince him to stay put.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:12, Thu 14 Nov 2019.

"I'm with Trish.  We march an army into the school, we're gonna wake every thing in there."  Ashley turned back to survey her ever-growing group, though without the irritation that one might expect to see on her face.  They don't know any better, they just want to help.  She glanced down, briefly contemplative, before returning her gaze to the others with a slight smile.

"I'm touched that you all want to help, honestly I am, but less is more when it comes to stealth.  I used to do this kinda thing all the time back at the church."  She spoke with her hands, fingers drawing maps in the air that only she could understand.  It was telling of her enthusiasm and, daresay, excitement at the prospect of this particular mission.  "Five, six people and we could cover the whole school quick without attracting too much attention.  Buddy system it for safety.  Come in quiet, get out quiet, no more than twenty minutes.  If things go sour, Mary radios for help, they hit the horn, we sneak out the back way and come around while the deadies are distracted.  Now let's stop putzing around and go."  This time there was a hint of annoyance in her eyes.  Time spent standing around and talking is time not spent searching for Nicole.

Setting an example as captain, Ashley turned and began her quiet approach towards the school.  Nothing short of physical restraint would stop her this time -- and whoever planned on being her partner had better hurry up and keep up.

Coming back to the school was the last thing Regina wanted to do. Thoughts of making trails to the mountain region were interrupted by images of that dying man in the school bus and that ominous symbol she still suspected to be the work of bandits. A surly frown registered this familiar environment, and sullen silence was her stance on engaging with what she knew would be an ill-fated rescue mission. The less she talked, the faster they'd get out of here. That was the theory, at least.

Naturally, an argument broke out.

At the very least, Ashley had a mind to solve the dispute with decisiveness, but she was still a teenager. "Trisha is right," those words were ones Regina would surely regret saying in the future, "Edward, you're the driver." The doctor had left the car after checking the ammo in her pistol. "I'll be going with Ashley -- to make sure she doesn't do anything I wouldn't do."

Regina nodded to Mary and Trisha, "That leaves you two. I would bring Eli and Rufus -- and that's all." She punctuated the last word in such a way as to leave no room to argue. With that out of the way, the doctor kept a brisk pace to keep up with her new partner.

"We need to get out of here as quickly as possible," Regina said, lowering her voice the closer they got to the building.

"Don't just walk away - !" Mary starts, then sighs, running a hand through her short hair. She'd never understand why people felt so damned rushed nowadays. If there's one thing they have in spades, it's time - at least, compared to all the resources they'd need to bail them out of poorly-planned trouble.

"Fine, I'm coming." She turns and points a finger at Edward, Elijah, and Rufus. "I don't care who comes, but someone stay with Dwayne and Mina."

She glances at Ivy, then continues, "Someone who can drive. Come on, Trisha."

Jaw setting in frustration, she sets off after Ashley and Regina.

Elijah stayed by the truck while the others talked. He looked content to let the small group plot among themselves. Wasn't like last night, they weren't up against armed assholes. Ideally. Weren't hurting for his expertise. Just infected in the way of their missing girl - ideally. Wasn't like getting around those rabid goons was rocket science at this point. If you hadn't figured it out by now, chances are you're one of them.

He kept looking at the school's chainlink fence for some reason. Hell only knew what was going on in his head. Didn't look good, from the thousand yard stare he had going on. Fuck, he'd seen enough chainlink to last a lifetime. When the others started moving he was pulled out of his reverie with a shudder.

"Sorry, Ed." He loosened the machete in its makeshift holster and rest his hand on the hilt. "You're still in the penalty box. If it makes you feel any better, don't imagine we're gonna have much fun in there without ya."

He tapped Ivy's shoulder and motioned for her to come along. "You stay close to me, now." He glanced to Mary and the others. He looked vaguely apologetic. "If everything gets fucked six ways from Sunday in there, my priority is gettin' her out. Alright?"

Wasn't like he had a big ass LMG to help her get out this time. Christ, he hated dealing with swarms in buildings. He hoped to God half of Rosedale wasn't posted up in there. He glanced to Ivy again, like he was ensuring she was in fact still there.

Fucked up these were the circumstances the girl was entering a school under now. Fuck it, fuck it. Try not to think about it. Search the joint and get out. He eyed the building from the outside, trying to get a sense of how big it was; Christ, with their luck who knew how many goddamn rooms there were to check. He thought Ashley, in all her teenage bravado, had sorely underestimated how lofty of a task a thorough search would be. He wasn't going to kick up a stink now though.

On the Sidewalk

"Alright, Sarge. I'll stay." The driver looks to Ivy. "You stay close to Eli, kiddo.

Angie, Natasha, and Rufus follow the others into the school yard.

"We'll look after the kids." Buford offers. Currently, Terry and him are staying in the SUV, presumably until the group returns. With that, the group heads into the school yard, again.

School Yard

Immediately, the group spots two undead in the far side of the yard, near the entrance to the main school building. Both of them begin shambling toward the group's direction.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Map of current area:
https://i.imgur.com/c7az4PP.png

---

"Okay," Ivy answered enthusiastically, glad to be actually included for once. Being stuck guarding the cars had gotten old real fast. The girl followed close by Eli's side like a loyal puppy as the search teams set out on their mission.

To hear "Trisha is right" twice in a row sends her giddy with a sense of accomplishment. She happily follows Mary when she is called for, eager to show off what else she could be right about.

Looking out at the enclosed space that separates them from the entrance to the school, Trisha stops to think before rushing out to take down the shambling bodies.

"I can take one if someone wants to get the other one." She holds her hammer at the ready, jogging in place to subdue some of her manic energy. She looks to Mary, waiting for an order before doing anything else.
"Y'sure we should all go in that door? We could get stuck."

Mary sights the rifle on one of the ghouls for a moment, still getting accustomed to the weight of it, before letting the rifle drop. "I'll be ready if you need me, but we should kill those things quietly if we can. If I start shooting, we'll have to leave."

She gives Trisha a concerned look. "Wait, what's wrong with the door?"

"Hm?" She looks back at Mary. "Nothin', it's just there ain't no room to scatter. We ain't got no other way outta there."
With a glance over to the door once more, Trisha takes it upon herself to clear out one of the obstacles.
"I'm gonna get the guy on this side." She points out the walker on her left and runs off after it. After guiding it into position, she rears back with the hammer and swings it into the head of the monster.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

20:55, Today: Trisha rolled 16 using 2d10+5 ((3,8)).

---

This message was last edited by the player at 10:56, Thu 21 Nov 2019.

"That's the plan."  The normally verbose Ashley was predictably curt once she entered the schoolyard, quietly skirting along the bus on left side on approach to the building itself.  "See if there's a way around, check the exits, use the least ugly one."  It was as much a mental checklist as anything else.  "Search where we can... leave when we can't."  That last was a shade bitterer than the rest -- acknowledging even the possibility of failure was more than she wanted to risk, to let even a single crack show in her perfect mental armor, and she quickly moved on without further words.

Ashley began scouting along the vehicular barrier to see if there was a way over or through, so they could use a side door and spread their search wider, faster.  It was perhaps telling that she paid virtually no mind to the pair of walking corpses in the yard -- the others had the situation well under control, and beyond that, it merited no further thought.  Never mind that the last time she took the undead for granted, she had paid dearly for her carelessness.  No.  Seriously, no.  God fucking damn it, no.  You do not get to take a trip down Self-Pity Lane when you've got a job to do.  She actually growled under her breath as she shook her head to banish the thought, returning her attention to the task at hand -- with, perhaps, a fraction of said attention devoted to watching and making sure nothing went wrong with Trisha and Mary.

Why's it always gotta be schools, though?  I swear, someone up there's laughing at me.

Ever averse to getting close to the infected, Regina was glad to leave Mary and Trisha to dispatch them and stick by Ashley. The girl was desperate and emotional; without supervision, Regina knew something terrible would happen to her. As they scouted around the sides of the bus barricade, Regina divided her attention between searching for an exit and keeping an eye on Ashley. As such, that growl didn't escape her. "Ashley," Regina said, softly, and the knowing look in her eyes silently suggested something. Even Regina didn't know what, but it had to be better than getting worked up before they'd also found Nicole.

"Natasha, I hope you've got the other one," Mary says, raising the rifle. Once again, she silently thanked Elijah for gifting her a scoped longarm and sights the ghoul that Trisha is not attacking. Nonetheless, she won't fire unless necessary - one gunshot, and this operation is over.

School Yard

"Yeah, sure." Following Trisha's lead, Natasha takes out the other ghoul with one swift stab with her knife. It falls limp to the ground a second after Trisha's target.

There are no clear alternative ways to get into the school, based on Ashley's observations.

Quite casually, Rufus walks up to the entrance door and peers through the transparent glass. "Empty hallways." He announces.

Meanwhile, Angie steps over by Elijah's side and murmurs something quietly to him.

"Man, they packed this shit tight."  Ashley looked over the barricaded area with a half smile; even though it represented a complication to her plans, she had to respect that kind of diligence.  With the two undead now re-dead, she spoke a bit more freely.  "A+ for thoroughness, I guess."  She cast a grin back over her shoulder towards Regina.  School, A+, get it?

With her initial approach thwarted, Ashley made for the front door following Rufus's observation.

"Empty beats messy, at least.  I'd rather more than just one clear exit, but if we gotta do it this way, at least it's not a fight to get in, too."

"That gives us more control of the situation," Mary says, trying to convince herself as much as anyone else of an upside. "As long as they didn't miss an entrance..."

"Lead the way, captain," Mary continues, eyeing the school with a frown. Truthfully, she doesn't expect to find anyone alive here; the only reason she'd agreed is to give Ashley some peace of mind and because time is the one resource they have in abundance. There's no reason to believe anywhere else would be safer than the school, after all. Still, she doesn't know what's going to happen if Ashley fails to find anything. Mary just hopes she's willing to cut their losses, rather than blow through all their resources chasing a ghost.

Regina didn't dignify Ashley's (horrible) pun with a response, only a slow roll of her eyes. Puns were the lowest form of comedy, even self-deprecation was better than a pun. At least the rest of the group were putting effort into more productive things than joke-making; Trisha and Mary made a good team. Maybe Regina and Ashley were the same? Wouldn't trust her to patch me up. Too emotional, she'd lose her cool.

That's that then.

"Tell us what Nicole looks like again," Regina said as she followed Ashley to the front door. "I need to know what to look for," In case there's a body.

Ashley froze visibly when Regina asked about Nicole's appearance, brow furrowed in concentration.  She hadn't exactly committed the girl's face to memory -- hadn't really had the opportunity to, having known her for only a couple days, and didn't really expect to need to.  This all combined with the lingering question of just how much she was thinking of Sam instead, potentially substituting details from a much firmer memory.

"She's... about yea tall."  Finally breaking her own awkward silence, Ashley held a hand flat at about half a head shorter than herself, right next to her own face for reference.  "Hair like so."  She drew a line across at neck length.  "Brown, straight.  Not as pale as me.  Freckles."  Her lips quirked to a little smile at that.  "Probably still has that bruise, unless she's managed to find an ice pack in the post-apocalypse."  She drew a circle with one finger around the left side of her own face.  It was the left side, right?  Probably right.

"She had an overstuffed backpack back at the church, but she might've lost it along the way.  Hope not.  She still owes me some of that Pepsi."  Ashley grinned toothily, trying to keep the happy memories in mind, to keep a positive attitude about the outcome of this fool's errand.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:55, Mon 25 Nov 2019.

"Nice!" Pleased with Natasha's handiwork as she takes down the second ghoul, Trisha shoots her a grin, her face lightly spattered in blood. "We're awful good at this, hey?" She nudges the girl playfully.
"Oh, right." She chirps back, satisfied with the explanation. If there's anyone she can blindly place her trust in, it's Mary. Once given the all clear, she heads over to meet Rufus at the front door, taking a look herself to see if he knows what he's talking about.
Just as he said, the hall looks clear from where they stand. Itching to get going, Trisha reaches out to open the glass doors.

School Entrance



"Er, hell yeah we are?" Natasha returns an affirmative nod at Trisha.

The glass doors shows no resistance and opens. Inside, Trisha spots hundreds of bloody footprints all over the hallway. The hallway splits into two directions. There are two chained up doors directly facing the entrance with a big "Auditorium" sign above them.

Angie walks through the door with her head constantly alternating down the two hallways.

"Yeah... this is cool. School, blood. Just like Halloween..." Natasha stares at the mess on the ground and the blood stains on the walls.

"Hm..." Rufus wanders into the hallway, examining the bloody marks. Suddenly, he turns around to Ivy. "Say, do you know why teachers wear sunglasses?"

"Huh?" Ivy snapped out of her trance, having been slightly off-put by such a familiar setting twisted into something so gruesome. "Um, why?"

Stepping through the doors, Trisha looks down each hallways, hoping to spot some sign of the missing girl. Instead, she can see only blood and gore smeared up and down the floors. Not a hopeful sign, but Trisha pays it no mind.
She walks up to the auditorium doors, inspecting the chains that hold them closed. She knocks quickly on the door  listens for any stirring on the other side, human or otherwise.
"Oh I know." Hearing the question, she turns around to look at Rufus and Ivy as she answers, missing the obvious setup for another bad joke. "Cus' he's really hungover."

Inside the School

Rufus smirks and shakes his head at the responses.

"Its because their students are so bright!" He says.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:04, Fri 29 Nov 2019.

Ivy groaned as she covered her eyes with one hand.

Initially confused by his refusing her answer, Trisha quickly catches on to the joke.
"Oh I get it." She says with a chuckle, returning the man's smirk with one of her own. "That's funny."
She tries to focus her attention back on the chained door, but can't help but feel a little distracted.
"That sure ain't why none of my teachers wore 'em."