Jane quickly ducked inside the shelter offered by the pawn shop and closed the double doors behind her. She unlocked the staff bathroom's door, dropped her soaked jacket on the door's coat hanger, and looked in the mirror. Her blonde hair had been turned brown by the rain, and she looked a lot like the winner of a wet T-shirt contest...

"Jane? That you? Ugh, what is that smell? Are you boiling cabbage in there?"

"Yeah, Mon, it's me. I don't know what it is, it comes from outside..."

Monica poked her head inside. Her ice-blue eyes quickly scanned Jane's statuary figure: "What happened to you? Did you fall in a pool or something?"

Jane sighed: "It started pouring rain all of a sudden... I was, like, on the other side of the street, and I'm soaked!"

Monica looked at her: "Hey, we can put you on display, get some more customers."

Jane glared at her workmate: "That's so funny."

"Yeah, well, now maybe you'll start wearing bras."

"Envy rears its ugly head again..." Jane grinned: "Do not worry, little one, you are perfect just the way you are."

"Why don't you go f..." Monica's reply was interrupted by a knock on the door. More precisely, by someone insistently banging on the door.

"You gotta pull it, you moron." She breathed. Then, in her upbeat "how may we help you" tone: "I'm coming!"

More banging. "Gee, keep your pants on, I said I'm coming! J., come help me when you don't look like a cheap stripper anymore."
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:06, Wed 27 Aug 2008.

"You need to pull, sir." Monica told the large guy on the other side of the heavy glass double doors. "Like it's written right above the handle. See?"

She pushed the door and the man stumbled inside, bringing along a gust of the cabbage-smelling air from outside.

"Are you alright?" She didn't really care, but having a guy die in your shop is not the best way to begin the day.

"*COUGH* *COUGH* I'm looking for *COUGH* *COUGH* Little Mickey." He replied.

Monica sighed: "That would be me."

The guy stared at her - for a moment, before another fit of cough hit him.

When that passed, he continued: "You are... Little Mickey D'Angelo?"

Monica sighed again: "I'm the only Micky D'Angelo you are ever gonna find here, Mister. How may I help you?"

The guy considered her for a long moment, then apparently made a decision: "Carlito says you have something for me."

The girl's eyes hardened: "I already told Carlos that we don't deal with that stuff anymore. Please leave."

"What?! *COUGH* *COUGH* No way, missy I- *COUGH* *COUGH* *COUGH* I need my shit, and I need it now! *COUGH* *COUGH*... Hey! Don't you walk away from me!" He tried to grab her shoulder but, with a powerful Judo throw, the tiny brunette sent him flying against a cupboard - breaking its delicate glass doors in the process.

"What the..." Jane rushed out of the staff bathroom, saw the man lying on the floor and looked at Monica: "Not again!"

"He attacked me." Monica replied indifferently. "I'm gonna call the police. You make yourself presentable, I don't want them to get any strange ideas on what we do here."
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:35, Wed 27 Aug 2008.

Tapping her foot impatiently, Monica kept waiting for the recorded voice to yield to a human being, but apparently every single cop in town had taken the day off.

Every now and then, she threw a look at her guest, who was "resting peacefully" on the floor.

Eventually, she ran out of patience and hung up, dialing a different number.

"Buongiorno Eddie baby..." She smiled when she heard the voice at the other end.

...

"I'm peachy, but I just tried to call you guys for like half an hour" - more like ten minutes, but who was counting? - "and it looks like everyone's on leave."

...

"What do you mean 'disturbances'? I'm a civilian sweetie, speak English with me."

...

"Really? Here too... There's a guy lying on my floor, he came in looking like trash and then tried to attack me. No, I'm fine, don't worry, just... Can you send some of the toys to bake him away?"

...

"Yes, that is my favorite Simpsons line, and I will use it any chance I get, so sue me."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:32, Wed 03 Sept 2008.

Smiling, Monica hung up the phone: Eddie was a good friend, and a reliable guy in a world where those two words rarely went together.

There had even been a time when they had tried to be something more: that hadn't worked out so well, but somehow their friendship had come out of it stronger - a blessing neither one fully understood, but one they were both grateful for.

Monica threw a look at the unconscious guy on her floor, and almost went behind the bench to get the store's gun, but then decided it wasn't really necessary: he wasn't going anywhere, and he really was in no condition to take her on.

Thinking of the gun brought back memories of the first time she'd met Eddie at the shooting range...

---

Cursing under her breath, Monica examined the target in front of her: most of her shots had missed the paper square entirely, and only one was anywhere near decent.

She put a new target on, waited for it to get to the right distance, and aimed her .22 again.

"It's not like in the movies, you know?"

She turned around and almost aimed her gun square at guy behind her, but with a smooth movement he intercepted her arm and pushed it down so that the weapon pointed at the floor: "Woah! Easy, Calamity Jane, we don't want any accidents here."

Monica was about to retort in her usual, "sweet" way, but...

She had been single for months, and this guy was tall, handsome, and had a really nice smile. Plus, she had to admit, he had a point: you should't aim your gun at someone unless you really intend to shoot him.

All that considered, she just smiled back and replied: "Didn't they tell you not to startle an armed girl?" .

"You know, now that I think about it, they probably mentioned something like that, yeah. "

"Well, you should've paid more attention! Now, what were you saying about movies?"

"Just one thing: forget them. You don't wave your gun at random hoping the bullets will magically hit the bad guy: you hold it with both hands, and aim with care. Remember: the bullet doesn't go where you are looking, it goes where you are pointing the gun. Here, let me show you..."

He gently nudged her to turn around, and helped her aim. When Monica fired, all the bullets actually hit the target, most of them nicely grouped around the center.

"Well, I'll be damned... You weren't just blowing hot air after all."

The guy laughed: "Well, thanks! By the way, my name's Edoardo Caruso, my friends call me Eddie."

Monica blinked once then chuckled: "Beh, piacere di conoscerti, Eddie... Monica D'Angelo."

Eddie smiled apologetically: "Uh... I don't really speak Italian..."

Wide-eyed, Monica could only reply: "Are you kidding me? Your name's Edoardo Caruso and you don't speak any Italian? At all?"

He shrugged: "It was my grandfather's name... He died when I was a kid, I never really had the chance to learn any Italian."

Monica shook her head: "I'll tell you what, Eddie Caruso: you teach me how to shoot with a gun that's actually useful," - she looked meaningfully at his .45 cal. - "and I'll teach you the language of your forefathers. Deal?"

He sized her up for a moment, then nodded: "Deal."
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:34, Wed 03 Sept 2008.

  Meanwhile, six blocks from Monica's diner, Hector was in his his squad car just finishing
a report on a robbery.

Time was the crack-heads just tried to cut you, not try and rip your throat out with their teeth! I swear, it's starting to feel like home around here.

BZZZ, BZZZZ

"This is car 7075, officer Hector DeSanto, responding."

.......... .......... ..........

"Eddy, is that you? You working dispatch now?"

...............  ......... ............  ..........  ........  .......

"Oh great, she threw another pinch-ass 'cross the room! Need me to clean up one of your girlfriend's little messes then?"

...... ..... ...............

"Oh she's not, aye? Well I'll be there in a minute, I could drop that on her if you want-"

........ ......... ........... ............!!!!

"Oh calm down, I'm just playing with you! I'd watch it though, she's got the eye out for yeah!"

........... ......... ......... .......... .......... ...........

"Nah I'm just messing about, I don't really mind. I've got the whole 'she'll drop the sexual harassment if you drop the the assault charge' argument down to a science now anyway. You owe though."

He the hangs up, rolls down his window, and calls out to his partner:

"Hey Geoff, quit bothering her for her digits and get in! We've got another call!"

"OK, Hector," Geoff replied and got back into the patrol car, "what we got?"

Still trying to restore what, not a half-hour earlier, had been a reasonably expensive hairdo, Jane looked at Monica: "So... Is Eddy coming?"

Monica glanced back at her: "No, Eddie is not coming, Eddie's busy. He's sending some of the boys." Then she turned around to look at her friend: "Is that my sweater?"

"Back off, 'kay? My clothes are soaked, and you are not using this anyway. Hey, d'you think he sent Hector?"

Monica sighed: "Maybe... Jane, do you really have to jump in the pants of every man that darkens our threshold?"

Jane raised an eyebrow: "Like you haven't been thinking about him too... I'm not the one who calls him bel cioccolatino."

Monica blushed slightly: "I said, bel 'chico latino', and it was all that stupid song's fault!"

"Tomayto, tomahto... I think that's them." A police cruiser had just stopped outside the shop.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:53, Sat 06 Sept 2008.

"Ah just another 'Monica Situation,'" Hector says, pulling the car into the diner's parking lot, "You know the drill: we sober the perv up, I convince everyone to keep the big bad lawyers out of it, while you keep that Jane from getting too.......handsy on me." A nervous look briefly enters Hector's eyes, like a deer being hunted. "We then print out and have them all sign enough 'waver' forms to fill a good sized barn, make sure the pervy one goes on his way, and hopefully call it a day. We've done this enough times, I mean what could possibly go wrong?" finishes Hector, getting out of the car; not realizing what terrible machinations of fate he may have set into motion with that most dangerous of saying he dared to utter....
This message was last edited by the player at 08:23, Mon 08 Sept 2008.

"I'll write you a list up when I can be bothered," Geoff chuckled, "OK, let's get going. It's funny, we're moving in to handle a perv and you're the one that's going to be worried about sexual harrassment. Fate's a bitch ain't it? Let's hope Monica hasn't gone as far as shooting anyone this time, it's only a matter of time before she does."

He settled himelf into the seat of the cruiser and waited for Hector to head off, hopefully they'd get this sorted in time for their dinner break, there was a really nice diner across from Monica's.

"Jesus, you ever see the sky like that...... Geoff?" said Hector as he paused for a minute, seeming entranced at the rolling, purple, clouds overhead. He then shaked himself out of it and as nonchalantly as possible, although clearly a little freaked out, stated, "Well we better get in before it starts up on us again!" as he ran for the diner's door.  Bursting into the diner he proclaimed, "Damn girls, what'd you do to the Dark God of The Cabbage to use your place as its toilet!?"
This message was last edited by the player at 08:31, Mon 08 Sept 2008.

"Señor DeSanto... Encantada, como siempre. How is it that I always have to beat up a guy to see you? You could call every now and then!" Monica smiled warmly at the big black guy.

Jane smiled even more warmly, both to Hector and Geoff: "Hello boys in blue... Care for a cake? No doughnuts, Geoff, I promise."

Laying on the shops floor near (what was left of) a relatively expensive piece of furniture, the unconscious guy wasn't really smiling to anyone. Actually, he seemed to be snoring.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:41, Mon 08 Sept 2008.

There was a moment then when Hector's eyes seemed to become mirrors into his very soul, showing so much sorrow and yearning. He then moved in close to Monica and with so much pain he whispered so only she can hear, "I told you Monica.......you don't want that."

Then the moment abruptly ended, as he stepped back and said for everyone "Um ah, besides ever sense you mentioned that stupid song every time I'm here your cake mongerer over there always giggles, smacks her lips at me, and says something like I'd be' worth the calories'. Now what ever could she mean by that?" he finished with a raised eyebrow and folded arms, but in a playful manner with a big grin on his face.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:53, Fri 12 Sept 2008.

Geoff was slightly upset at the prospect of no doughnuts, but brightened at the thought of cake, "Are they real cakes or those fancy Italian fiddly things? They aren't bad, but hardly a mouthful."

He paused, remembering why he was there, "Are you girls OK?" he asked looking at the blonde as he spoke.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:51, Fri 12 Sept 2008.

Monica looked over at her dearest friend, then back to Hector: "I'm not sure you want to know: it's a picture that's gonna stay with you. Come, have some cake..." - then, under her breath: "And please don't connect the dots when you do..."

Jane seemed a bit perplexed: "Why do you look so disapppointed? The last time you tried my doughnuts, you didn't seem to like them very much?"

She shrugged and brightened: "It's a big chocolate one, a gift from the owner of the bakery at the corner. But, uh... Maybe you should do something about him first."

She pointed at the guy, who apparently was finally waking up. As Jane spoke, he tried with some difficulty to stand up.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:09, Fri 12 Sept 2008.

"Jane, sweetheart, there's nothing about you I don't like," her doughnuts had sucked, it was true, sucked mightily, but Jane had other, talents, that more than made up for that, "Don't worry, the perp's my first priority."
He moved toward the guy and pulled out his cuffs, blushing slightly as he remembered the last time he'd used them in Jane's presence....
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:48, Fri 12 Sept 2008.

People have predictable reactions when approached by a policeman with handcuffs in his hands: some freeze, a few back (or run) away, and a very small number will try to pick a fight, or just shove the copper away and run.

None of them lunge forward and try to bite the policeman's face...
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:46, Fri 12 Sept 2008.

Geoff reeled back as he felt a sharp, tearing pain on his cheek, he took a step back, amazed that the perp had bitten him. He moved to one side and grabbed the perp's left arm, attempting to bend the wrist back, twist the elbow against the joint and take the perp face down to the floor where he could cuff him.

He was pissed off, more forms to fill in, a HIV and Hep test and Emergency Rooms almost never had any decent food around.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:45, Fri 12 Sept 2008.

Agility really wasn't this guy's strong suit: Geoff didn't have any trouble forcing him on the floor - but now he was thrashing and slipping every which way!

Neither girl froze or started screaming when the mystery guy bit Geoff: first of all, they weren't that kind of girl, and second, there were two trained cops against a single guy - not much to worry about, really...

Still, having both being schooled at Our Lady of Better Safe Than Sorry, Monica looked at Jane, who nodded back and quickly moved behind the bench to retrieve their guns... "Just in case".
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:31, Fri 12 Sept 2008.

   Hector stared at the horror before him for a seeming eternity before he finally snapped out of it, drew his pistol, and.......fired right into the floor, at least a yard to the left of the culprit! Chagrined, he then steaded himself, gripped the gun with both hands this time, and........
This message was last edited by the player at 23:21, Sat 13 Sept 2008.

"HECTOR!" Monica jumped to he policeman's right - paying attention to stay out of his line of fire, just in case.

"What the hell are you doing? You'll kill someone!"

"Hold your fire, man!" Geoff yelled as splinters from the floor brushed his trouser leg. It had been a wierd day so far and it was going downhill from there.

Keeping the perp's arm fully locked and straight out, Geoff stepped in under the arm, taking care to avoid the maniac's snapping jaws. He hooked his foot around the perp's leg and tried to sweep him to the ground, whilst keeping him controlled through the extremely painful arm lock.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:56, Sun 14 Sept 2008.

Geoff dropped, leading with his knee into the small of the perp's back. He was perhaps, a little rougher than he should have been but the freak had bitten him.


As soon as he was able to pin the writhing guy, Geoff attempted to cuff the wrist that he held. He was worried by this guy, his reactions were all wrong, given the lock he was in, he should be screaming in agony, not writhing like an eel on PCP. Shit, Geoff thought, that was another test he'd need. Shit day, man.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:55, Sun 14 Sept 2008.

"Jeez Mon, calm down!" Hector said with a winning smile as he put the gun away, "I was just trying to scare the guy. You know me better then that."

He then called out to Geoff, "You got 'em, partner?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:33, Sun 14 Sept 2008.

Monica looked at Hector for a long second: "Baby Jesus on a stick, Hector! You sure scared me, you can take that to the bank."

"Honey, you're rambling." Jane, still holding a gun in each hand, smiled at her friend. The action ahd been so fast she hadn't even had time to move from behind the counter to the shop proper.

Looking at the unnamed guy, handcuffed but still trying to break free of Geoff's hold, she continued: "What the hell is he on? I've seen people on bad trips before, but this is just crazy."

Geoff frowned at Hector's lame excuse, it might go down well with the girls, but the shot was a serious breech of conduct. He'd need to have a quiet chat with his partner, such actions were out of character. Still, there was no reason to get heavy here or make the guy lose face in front of the girls.

God knew that Hector'd gotten Geoff out of enough scrapes when he'd bent the rules maybe a bit too far, fair exchange was no robbery after all.

He finished securing the perp and marvelled at the guy who was still writhing around as if he'd never tire, "Hector," he said, "we ain't going to get this guy back to the station in one piece on our own, call for back-up, restraints and a paddy wagon. Tell the Dispatcher we'll need a Doc and a Psych Evaluation."

He looked over at Jane and smiled, "I've got him now, make scarce with the guns when the back up comes. I'd hate to think of some Dudley Do-Right trying to come all heavy with you, I've lost enough face today. That reminds me, do you have a first aid kit? I'd like to get disinfectant on the bite as soon as I can."

Finally, Jane got a chance to have a good look at the wound on Geoff's face and lost a shade of color: "Oh my- I'll get it immediately."

She handed the guns to Monica, ran to the bathroom, got hold of the shop's first aid kit and... Was confronted with the problem of how to get crazy guy to stand still long enough to apply a dressing to Geoff's wound.

After a moment's hesitation, she solved the conundrum by sitting on the guy's back.

"Geoff, you know with how hectic it's been today we'll be here three hours waiting for backup; and an actual shrink may deem us worthy of actually coming down here within twenty-four hours, if we're lucky." said Hector with a twinge of exasperation.

He then came over to where Geoff had the perp and looked him over, "No I think we can take him in ourselves. We'll just have to do the "sack of potatoes" routine. You know: I open the back seat, come back, take his legs while you grip his arms and we'll hurl em' in."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:57, Tue 16 Sept 2008.

"I'm not sure, Hector," Geoff replied, wincing at the sting of the antiseptic, "this guy's gonna be pretty badly hurt if we do that and bring him back. With the bite too, his lawyer will almost certainly file for harrassment. I think we need to go on record that we tried to do it by the book, even if we get told to do it the old way. At least call it in so we have our concerns on record."

The last thing Geoff needed was a police brutality suit bearing down on him, after his last fitness report and productivity reiew, the Department might just let him go rather than fight it.

He felt Jane's strong yet gentle fingers ministering to his wound, it hurt like hell, but just having her close was great, "You're really good at this, it feels better already, thanks."

Jane smiled: "And you are a really good liar, but thanks. You need to see a doctor as soon as you take him - WOULD YOU FUCKING STAY STILL FOR A MOMENT, YOU..." The rest of the sentence was a free flow of profanities in at least three different languages.

None of which seemed to have any effect on the guy Jane and Geoff were now both trying to keep down on the floor. Quite effectively, in fact, as he couldn't really go anywhere, but that certainly didn't stop him from trying!

Geoff blushed slightly, Jane managed to come up with some curses he hadn't heard even after so many years on the Force. Still the pain was getting less, and he was in close proximity to the most attractive woman that had ever shown interest in him, and there they were, squirming and writhing, and not in a good way...

His mind began to wander, he looked into Jane's eyes and smiled gently, "Piece of cake.." he said.

Hector looked a little embarrassed at all the flirting going on as he spoked up, "Ummm yeah, okay I'll report all this to dispatch and just see what they want us to do."
He then stopped just as he was about to push the door's handle, and turned around "Hey you don't think this is the same 'crack-head' that tried to rip the throat out of that woman just six blocks from here, do you? I mean that went down to damn close to just be a coincidence, and there can't be that many bitey druggies running around out there, could there?"

Hector's thoughts brought Geoff out of his dreams of cake, and Jane, "That's a good call, Hector, it could be a righteous collar after all. Call it in and get authorisation for taking him in with inadequate personnel, that should cover us."

"Cake! I almost forgot... Come back after you see the doctor, 'kay? You deserve a little treat." She leant over to kiss him on the unharmed cheek.

 Hector was out of the diner for perhaps five minutes; at the ending of which there was a slamming of the squad car's front door, and a swear so loud it could be heard for likely a couple blocks around, before a very frustrated looking Hector bursts back in.

"Geoff I'm only getting static out there, could you check your com?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:03, Wed 17 Sept 2008.

On this beautiful day, the day that his life would change forever, Nephi Swanson, dressed slightly better then usual (he'd even combed his hair), had been called by the high school's PE teacher, who was in a bit of a panic.  "Thank goodness I caught you!  I need you to go in today and teach my fencing class for me.  I can't make it, I have to take my daughter to the hospital."
"Of course I'll do it," Nephi replied.  "When does class start?"
"Second period."
"I'll be there.  Look after your daughter, okay?"
"Of course.  Got to go now."  *click*
Nephi finished his daily routine, and quickly packed his car with the fencing uniforms, masks, and foils needed for the class, plus his rapier, mumbling unnoticed to himself the whole time.
Still quite early, Nephi decided to have a nice quiet drive before the class started, and took the scenic route.  A short burst of thick dark rain dampened his enjoyment of the drive, but he thought nothing of it, at least until he was driving past Monica's shop.
Seeing a police cruiser parked outside, he looked at the time, thought 'I'm still far too early, and Monica's a friend - I think.  I'll see if I can help.' and parked across the street.
As he stepped out of his car, the stench of burned cabbage assaulted his nose, and he saw puddles of the dark rain that he could almost see the smell coming from.  'That can't be good,'  he thought, as he stepped around the puddles towards the shop, 'better avoid that stuff.  Who knows what chemicals are in it?'

As Nephi opened the door to the shop, he stopped in shock at the strange sight to greet him - some guy squirmed on the ground, as he tried in vain to get out from underneath a cop and Monica's friend Jane, while another cop loudly complained about only getting static.
"Uh, Monica?  You need some help here?"

"Nephi? Is that really you?!" Monica smiled brightly at the newcomer, whom she greeted with a kiss on both cheeks: "What are you doing here? I thought you were in Europe or something..."

With the corner of her eye, Monica saw Hector assume a very professional expression (of the "move-along-nothing-to-see-here" kind), and hastened to add: "Ah, Hector, this is Nephi Swanson, he's an old friend of mine. Nephi, this is Hector DeSanto: you know how we seem to attract weirdos of all sorts? Hector takes care of them, and he takes care of us too." She winked at the large cop.

"Hey Nephi!" Jane waved with a big - yet, uncharacteristically, not at all suggestive - smile.

"Good to see you again! Uh... You didn't hear me... Speak my mind, did you?" She bit her lower lip and looked like a little girl caught with her hands in the cookie jar.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:42, Fri 19 Sept 2008.

"Uhh, no?  So, what's going on?  Saw the car outside, and thought I should come in and see if I could help."  Nephi said as he continued to look around in some confusion.  "Should I help the officer keep that guy on the ground?"

Geoff checked his radio quickly, "I'm dead too." he said, he looked up to see the suit walk in. Not a suit, a member of the LDS if he was right. A solid witness at least, "Monica, Jane, I'm reluctant to just throw the perp in the back of the car as it might hurt him and leave us open to a law suit. However, if either of you or this gentleman feel that where he is he still poses a threat to your well-being, or is causing you mental distress, we can use "the public good" as a defence and, given the unusual circumstances, we'd be in the clear." He locked eyes with the visitor, "If we do this, I'd appreciate if you'd act as an observer when we do. We really don't want to hurt this guy, but given his actions, it may be unavoidable. We've exhausted other options, there's no way of getting backup so until he's in our patrol car he's still a threat."

 Hector raised and eyebrow, bent down, and said as quietly as he could to his partner "You know you're being awful considerate to a guy that attempted to assault at least two woman that we know of, and just tried to bite your face off. Besides just look at his eyes; I'd be surprised if he even knew who he was, let alone how to call a lawyer. But if we simply must do this by the books I haven't exhausted calling this in."

He then stood up and approached the counter, "Mon, I'm going to have to borrow your phone. I can hope at least a land-line still works." he said with a smile.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:19, Fri 19 Sept 2008.

"Of course! Right over there." She pointed at the phone, which wasn't all that visible amid the large amount of cra... Merchandise and paperwork covering the bench.

"Yeah Monica, I was in France on a mission until recently.  Great country, great people.  Good to be home though, despite only being a Teacher's Aide at the High School.  How have you been?" Nephi asked while he considered what the other officer had said.  He thought for another moment about the squirming guy, then said to the officer (who had not been introduced) "Well, the guy's not bothering me.  But since you're sitting on him and he's still thrashing around like that, maybe you should just throw him in the car."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:09, Sat 20 Sept 2008.

Well Hector didn't just try one number but at least three, and by the the increasingly aggravated expression on his face they were all with the same result.

"Shit!" he exclaimed as he slammed the phone down, "I can't even get my answering machine! Looks like we're back to carrier pigeons and smoke signals!"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:30, Sat 20 Sept 2008.

As if to personally defy Hector, the phone rang as soon as he had spoken those words. Monica picked it up: "Queen's Gambit's Pawn Shop."

She blinked as she heard the voice at the other end of the line: "Eddie? What... Of course I'm OK, I'm with Hector and Ge- Huh?"

She frowned, then she frowned deeply, then she frowned more deeply, then: "Edoardo Caruso, is this some kind of joke?"

And then someone started banging on the door.

"Man, what is it with people today? Can't anybody read anymore?" Then, loudly: "You have to pull it to open it!"

Nephi looked out the shop window.  'Wonder if I should have brought my rapier in with me.' he mused to himself.

Through gritted teeth, Monica called out: "Everybody, stay away from the door! Jane, get me a knife. Eddie, where are you exacly? No, listen! No! You are going to tell me exactly where you are, or so help me, I'm going to turn every stone in the damn city until I find you." By now Monica was shouting in the phone.

"Good boy. Don't get yourself killed, Eddie baby: the cavalry's coming."

Jane handed a knife to Monica, who kneeled down beside Geoff: "Now, geoff, I have a very important question to ask you: does the department have any policies about arresting the dead?"

Before he could reply, she swiftly slid the edge of the knife on the prisoner's arm, leaving a deep cut... That wasn't quite bleeding as it was supposed to.

Geoff looked at what Monica had just done to his prisoner and paled, whether at the act or it's result, he didn't really know, "You don't have to arrest the dead, Mon, they're... dead. What the hell did you just get told?"

Looking at the barely-bleeding gash on the arm of her first (but most certainly not last) zombie, Jane shook her head in disbelief: "Okay, so... We just got cast in a George Romero movie, right? Would that make me the slutty blonde who's gonna die horribly in the first act to make the point that having sex is bad?"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:49, Sun 21 Sept 2008.

"Well if it's Romero I should be safe. Black guy always lives to the end!" said Hector with thematic flourish, "But seriously I'm going to have to ask you to stop doing that, Mon. I don't like the guy much either, but I can't just let you torture him. And could you please tell us what exactly Eddy told you, and how I can call him again?" ended Hector in his 'big-bad cop' voice.

As the beating on the glass double door continued, Monica looked at Hector and replied calmly: "This guy's dead, Hector. Living people bleed when you cut them, and he's not bleeding. Eddie emptied his clip in another of these things, and it just kept coming. Now he's out of ammo and surrounded."

She looked at the door: "And I don't think that whatever is trying to knock down the door instead of simply pulling the handle and opening it has a working brain any more."

Geoff thought about Monica's last comment, pull not push doors had given him some tricky moments over the years...

Awareness dawnwed on him, "Eddie's in trouble? Where is he?" he looked over at Jane and said, "You're not slutty, anyway, I'm the black cop's partner so I'm bound to get it first."

And I've been bitten, he thought to himself, I wonder how these things spread whatever it is that makes them dead?

"Uh, Jane, Monica?  Sure hope you can use those guns of yours.  But if I can't get the stuff out of my car, I'm going to be completely useless against these zombies." Nephi said as he looked out the window.  "On second thought, you wouldn't happen to have any fencing gear around here, right?  And if the movies are at all true, aim for the head."

"Nobody's gonna die on my watch. Jane, break out the good stuff."

Jane nodded and opened a cabinet that contained the shop's safe.

"Now, gentlemen, don't even think about firing this thing in here: my ears are still ringing from Hector's nine-mil! Thank you, honey." Taking the huge silvery handgun with a satisfied smile, she raised it so that the others could see it.

"This baby is a .50 caliber Desert Eagle. You can sum it up with with five words: if it moves, it doesn't. Who wants to try it out?"

While Monica spoke, Jane was taking out the rest of the "good stuff", under the astonished eyes of the three men.

First there were five 7-round clips for the Desert Eagle, followed by three boxes of .50AE ammo, for a grand total of 95 hand-cannon bullets.

Mere seconds later, there came a 64-round box of .45 ACP ammo, along with three 13-round clips designed for Jane's beloved Glock 21, totaling 103 bullets.

Finally, with four 15-round clips, and a 100-round box of 10mm Auto ammo, Monica's own Model 20 may have been the least powerful of the lot, but it certainly won the Energizer Bunny prize...
This message was last edited by the player at 14:04, Mon 22 Sept 2008.

"Clearly we're going to have to have a conversation on the legality of a private citizen owning most of the items in that safe, Monica." said Hector with increasingly widening eyes, "But a more pressing concern is: what your planning on doing with said items. You can't possibly be serious. I mean, zombies?! I'm no doctor but there has to be dozens of good, valid, medical reasons for why this guy isn't bleeding in a way that you deem 'proper', besides jumping to the conclusion that he's a member of the 'walking dead'. Your not suggesting we just go out there, 'guns blazing', are you?"

Monica stored the four 10-mil clips in the pockets of her jeans, and slammed the last one in the gun itself, loading one bullet in the barrel and looked Hector in the eye: "There are maybe three people in the world whom I'd believe if they told me that the dead are walking. Eddie Caruso is one of those people. He wasn't kidding, he's in danger, and I'm going to find him, simple as that. By the way, each of these weapons is perfectly legal, as long as it remains in this shop... I think that means another minute or so. You done sweetie?"

Even as she addressed Jane, Monica didn't take her eyes off Hector.

While Monica was giving little speech, Jane was efficiently loading her own .45, and safely storing the ammo in two backpacks, along with the contents of her and Monica's bags.

"Who's gonna take the BMF? I'm no good with it, too much recoil." She casually put the .45 clips in her pockets, and the backpack with the .45 ammo on her shoulders.

The Desert Eagle - also known as the BMF, apparently - remained on the shop's desk, along with its five clips.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:52, Mon 22 Sept 2008.

Hector considered all this information for a minute, "Alright, I have a proposition. Namely we tie our perp up and I shoot him in the the most painful, non-lethal, place on the human body: the knee-caps. Believe me, I've seen this before, and no matter what he's high on if he's still alive he'll have a response to that. If not I'm perfectly willing to accept the supernatural. Everyone agree to that?"

Nephi's eyes widened at the sight of the small arsenal revealed.  "Heck Monica.  I knew you were worried about your safety, but isn't this a bit much?  Though if we can get to my car, could we find a safe spot for a second to let me change before charging off to rescue Eddie?"  He thought for a second, then said "Would anyone else like a fencing uniform?  Might help reduce the chances of getting wounded a little.  I was supposed to teach fencing to the PE class during second period, so I have plenty."

"You can shoot him wherever you please, far as I'm concerned." Monica finally took her eyes off Hector, loaded a clip in the hand cannon, stuck both guns in her jeans (with their safety on) and put the remaining four Desert Eagle clips in her backpack.

"Just warn me before you do, I kinda like being able to hear." She looked at Nephi and added: "I think Jane and I are going to need your car, Nephi: the backseat of a police cruiser isn't the safest place to be if you have to get out of the car quickly."

Geoff was a little surprised at the hand cannons that Monica and Jane produced, the girls obviously took home defence really seriously. He said, "thanks for the offer, Mon, but I'll stick with my Department issue. It's what I'm used to and if the shit's really going to hit the fan, familiar is good."

He grunted at Hector's suggestion and said, "I'd rather not comduct any more experiments on our prisoner thank you. At worst it's torture and you'll do ten to fifteen and I'll do five for aiding and abetting and at best it's desecration of the dead,"he paused and frowned for a moment, "or maybe the scenarios are the other way around."

He thought for a long moment, making decisions always hurt, and his brain was in spasms at the moment, "You're right, the back of a squad car is no place in a riot situation, we'll need Nephi's car too if it's OK with him. I'd suggest Nephi drives his auto with Monica and Hector as shotgun whildt Jane and I take the squad car. Jane, do you want to drive and I'll shoot, or the other way around? I've never seen you shoot, so you call."

He felt unsure about letting Hector out of his sight, he'd been exhibiting dangerously unhinged behaviour all morning.

"As for the perp," he blushed slightly, "I'm sure Jane can lay her hands on some extra handcuffs out of the stock. We can chain him to the safe. If he's dead it makes no odds, if he's alive we can leave him the cake," he winced at the sacrifice, "and some water so he'll be OK until it all dies down."

Nephi had listened carefully to the conversation. "Yeah, using my car's a good idea. Monica, front seat or back?"

monica didn't need to think about it: "Back. I'll leave the front to the guy with the shotgun. Jane?"

"I'm a pretty good shot, but I don't think I can beat a trained cop. I'm afraid I left my handcuffs at home, though." She smiled, then blushed as she remembered Nephi was still in the room.

A moment later, she turned dead serious and pulled her gun out: "Not that they'd do much good... Watch out!"

Now that she'd mentioned it, everyone could see that the dead guy was almost free of the handcuffs. He had torn skin, muscles and quite possibly tendons off his wrists in the process, but he didn't seem to care.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:45, Wed 24 Sept 2008.

  Like greased lightning the baton was in Hector's hands and he whacked the squirming creature with enough force to crack it's head with a sickening crunch......and yet it seemed to have no effect. It still struggled on, unfazed in the slightest.

"Jódame......" he said as he stared in disbelief.

Nephi's eyes widened. He saw the zombie almost ready to rise, and prepared to dodge.  "If it's anything like the movies, go for the head.  If the head doesn't work, keep hitting until something does!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:51, Wed 24 Sept 2008.

The bangs on the door now were louder and practically uninterrupted. There seemed to be quite a crowd amassing out there...

Geoff blinked as he saw Hector begin to whale the perp enthusiastically around the head. He heard the noise at the door redouble, no wonder, Hector was making the incident that started the Los Angeles riots look like the goddam Teddy Bears' Picnic. He shook his head, wondering how Hector had missed all the Positive Action and Light Touch Policing seminars he'd had to go through.

He drew his own baton and moved to one side. He swung the weapon quickly and slammed it into the back of the perps knee with a force that would hopefully put him back on his knees again.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:00, Wed 24 Sept 2008.

Geoff's hit didn't quite bring down the undead junkie... However, coupled with a second enthusiastic whack from Hector, it pushed it face first against the wall.

The back of the creature's head was now a bloody mess, the cracked skull clearly visible - and the face wasn't much better...

The creature turned around and clawed at Hector, the bloody handcuff still dangling from its wrist.

"Stand back!" Intimated Jane, carefully aiming at the creature's head.

Nephi decided to stay out of the way.  Without his rapier and with no firearms training, he felt quite useless.

 Hector sprung out of the way like a kangaroo, nearly covering the length of the diner in the process! Unfortunately the place isn't all that big and he nearly crashed through the front door, only catching himself just in time! Then knowing the report that was coming he ducked down and covered his hands over his head.....

Monica followed Hector's example, taking a big step back and covering her ears.

Jane took a moment to aim carefully, and gemtly squeezed the trigger.

An instant later, the mother of all thunders exploded in the shop, and the dead guy's head disappeared.

"Can you die now? Pretty please?"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:05, Fri 26 Sept 2008.

Geoff just about managed to get clear of the perp and cover his ears before Jane let loose with her hand cannon.

The zombie fell backwards twitching. Jane lowered the gun and took a deep breath. Monica carefully removed her hands from her ears, and looked at her friend: "Nice shot baby."

"Piece of cake." Smiled Jane.

The banging on the doors was now worryingly loud, and the hinges were beginning to give in under the pressure.

"Backdoor?"

"Backdoor."
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:54, Sat 27 Sept 2008.

Nephi shook his head a couple of times to try to clear the ringing in his head.  "What?" he said.

"Yikes!!" declared Hector as he picked himself off the floor. He then pulled his gun out and headed for the backway, "Better let me check out the back before we all head out. And see to your Nephi, Jane."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:59, Sun 28 Sept 2008.

Monica pulled her own Implement of Destruction. Right then, the double doors' hinges gave under the pressure, and three zombies fell face down inside the shop: "Maybe another time... Out! Out! Out!"

She wasn't done speaking that Geoff's handcuffs, still attached to the dead guy's wrists,  rattled on the floor as the headless body begain regaining its footage.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:19, Sun 28 Sept 2008.

Geoff twisted to face the creatures and drew his service pistol, "Hector, check the alley! I've got rearguard."

He kept his weapon low in a double-fisted grip, moving crabwise to put himself between the rioters and the girls.

He called out loudly and in his best Cop voice, "This is Officer Wayne. Desist from this riotous assembly and walk away from the scene of this crime, otherwise I will be forced to shoot for the sake of the innocent civilians in the vicinity!"

Slowly, the three creatures crawled to their feet.

The first to regain its footing was a man in his fourties, wearing a black suit, black pants, black tie - he looked like he was going to his own funeral, except for the large amount of blood that was covering everything from his moth down. Come to think of it, there was a funeral home not far away...

The second one was a fat woman, and the large gash on her neck matched quite precisely the contours of Funeral Guy...

The last one was a pale, thin boy, maybe thirteen. He had no discernible cause of death.

An instant later, a loud horn-skid-crash combo announced some sort of accident had just happened.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:57, Sun 28 Sept 2008.

Ears still ringing, Nephi took a few moments to scan the room for anything looking even vaguely shaped like a rapier.  Unable to hear how loud he was, Nephi yelled "Head didn't work!  Try the heart next!"

Geoff heard Nephi's call and shrugged slightly, he reckoned that seeing the headless guy stand was enough of a justification to use "deadly force" in this circumstance.

He raised his pistol into a firing position and squeezed off double tap into the headless perp's heart.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:55, Mon 29 Sept 2008.

Geoff hit the zombie square in the chest... Thereby missing the heart by a hair or so.

The impact, however, pushed the creature back on the floor.

That was good, but not good enough: the other three creatures were now all standing, and they looked hungry...

Jane raised her gun again and put a bullet in the boy's chest, throwing him to the ground as well.

She moved one foot back slightly and shot Funeral Guy. The resulting explosion left a hole in the guy's back as big as a car's wheel, completely disintegrating the creature's heart.

Funeral Guy was thrown back all the way out of the shop, where he remained motionless.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:02, Wed 01 Oct 2008.

Monica lead Hector to the shop's backdoor, an old-style door made of solid wood. She opened a small box hanging from the wall near the door, took out the door's key, and unlocked it.

The entry hall of the building was painted beige. The stairs' steps were simple concrete, no tiles or other "fancy" stuff.

At the two ends of the corridor there were the two doors out of the building: the front one was fairly new and by all looks armored; the backdoor was made of iron.

Both could be opened by clicking one of the two buttons just next to them - the other being the stairs' light.

Monica, of course, hit the wrong one on the first try.

A muttered cuss word later, she nodded to the large cop: "After you."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:13, Tue 30 Sept 2008.

Unable to see anything usable, Nephi retreated, following Monica and Hector at a distance.  'Wish I'd taken some firearms training.' He thought to himself.

Well, hitting the heart seemed to do it, Geoff thought to himself as he slowly backed off, he aimed carefully once more at the foremost rioter and gently squeezed his trigger, sending another 9mm round down range.

The fat woman lumbered towards Jane, just in time to receive an extremely well-placed pill of hot lead from Geoff.

She fell backwards as well.

Jane smiled widely and was about to compliment her quasi-boyfriend, when Headless Worseman and The Boy Who Didn't Live began trying to regain their footing.

A moment later, Funeral Guy started twitching slightly.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:51, Wed 01 Oct 2008.

Geoff began to shake, these things really weren't going down, head shots, heart shots, what would take them down? Geoff controlled his racing breath and backed further out of the shop, he aimed at the headless man's heart and fired once more. Hitting them slowed them down if nothing else, and who knew, maybe you had to take out the head and the heart?

"Get a move on! He yelled, We can't hold them."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:11, Thu 02 Oct 2008.

Once again, Geoff sent the undead to kiss Mother Earth.

Well, not really kiss, seeing how the thing was one head short of having a mouth, but it's the thought that counts.

"You're not invited to the wedding party hon... But take some confetti anyway!" Quipped Jane, sending a bullet through the heart of The Kid Who Didn't Live.

The undead fell over. Meanwhile, Funeral Guy and Opera (Ain't Over Till She Sings) were beginning to move again.

Now, this was all good and fine: zombies rise, Jane and Geoff send them down again; lather, rinse, repeat.

All it took to end the fun, however, was one bullet missing its target or a zombie faster than its brethren getting a lucky hit...

Hector stopped just as he was about to open the door, and for a moment gazed into Monica's eyes.

"I know this is a bit of a stereotype, middle of a horrible conflict and all, but I just can't run into a mob of the living dead without doing this just once."

He bent down and gave Mon a long lingering kiss. He was quite good at it. Tongue was involved, too.

He pulled off with a dorky grin, braced himself, and shoved the back door open...
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:21, Sat 04 Oct 2008.

The alley behind the building was quiet. There was no sign of zombies, just a slight breeze, filled with the smell of boiled cabbage.

A handful of cars had been parked there, leaving only a few free places.

Most importantly, the alley was blind, a cul-de-sac enclosed by buildings on all ends.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:22, Sat 04 Oct 2008.

"Man, I'm so gonna jump your bones..." Muttered Monica, catching her breath.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:24, Sat 04 Oct 2008.

Nephi berated himself again for not taking firearms training, or at least taking his rapier into the shop with him.  He spotted Monica and Hector just as the backdoor opened.  "Monica?  Got a pipe or bat or something?  I feel useless, being unable to defend myself against these zombies."

Keeping her gun pointed at the floor, Monica followed Hector, casting a final look over her shoulder to answer Nephi's question before leaving: "There should be a Civil War sabre, probably a replica, somewhere in the back... I don't know how good a condition it's in, though."

Noticing Nephi's expression, she proceeded to repeat it more loudly, accompanying the sentence with gestures.

"Thanks." Nephi said in reply before he began his search for the sword.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:25, Sat 04 Oct 2008.

Hector looked a bit disappointed as he looked around and found not a zombie in sight.

Well isn't this a bit anti-climatic. I mean I kissed the girl, I shoved the door back, revolver drawn, and there's nothing here?! No respect for the traditions of cinema, these zombies!

"Looks okay so far; so stay here until I've checked out the front, 'kay guys?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:39, Sat 04 Oct 2008.

"Snowball. Hell. Get over it." Replied Monica, grabbing a brick from the floor to use as a doorstop.

Having made sure the door would stay open - just in case - Monica followed Hector in the small, desert alley.

Nephi frantically searched for the sword, realising that he didn't have much time before the others would be retreating from the zombies.

Jane fired another shot... That went completely wild.

She shook her head, looking confused: "Geoff, let's get out of here..."

Then, very loudly: "Hector! Ready or not, here we come!"

Geoff nodded at Jane and said, "I'm right there with Ya, kid, you move, I'll follow."

Geoff let Jane lead the way and he continued backing off, ready to fire but saving his ammunition as the bullets really didn't seem to have much effect.

Stumbling slightly, Jane went for the shop's small warehouse, and waited for Geoff to follow her before closing the light wooden door that separates the two rooms: "This won't hold'em for long, but the next two will."

Then she looked at Neph, who was still searching through the shelves and the piles of rub... Material accumulated during the years: "Nephi, we gotta go."

On his lack of reaction, she repeated, more loudly: "Nephi, we gotta go!"

"Well I could give you the cop's traditional 'you're a civilian' speech, Monica. Or I could stand here picking my butt. Hard to tell which would be the bigger waste of time we just don't have."  said Hector with a knowing smile, "But let me go first, and try to stay behind me." Not waiting for a reply Hector then sprinted up the alley toward the cars....
This message was last edited by the player at 20:20, Sun 05 Oct 2008.

Monica had no hope of keeping up with Hector, but she tried her best anyway.

At the end of the alley, Hector found an overturned car. Not only was it blocking the access to the road, but the gas tank had been cracked in the accident, and it was now spilling fuel all over the pavement.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:04, Mon 06 Oct 2008.

"Huh, Jane?  Looking for the sword Monica said was here." Nephi said as he dumped another box on the ground.  "Just be a second, I hope."

Jane bit her lower lip, trying to remember: "There! Try over there Nephi!" She spoke loudly and pointed with her finger.

As Nephi searched, Jane leant against the wall: she wasn't feeling that hot.

She let out a surprised gasp when Geoff put a heavy hand on her neck, and managed to say: "Geoff! Not... Now!"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:38, Wed 08 Oct 2008.

Jane coughed twice, lightly, when Geoff pulled his hand back hastily.

"Save it for the bedroom, big boy!" She smiled.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:55, Mon 06 Oct 2008.

"Sorry, Jane," Geoff said, "but even at times like this, you're irresistable."

He looked around, "Let's get out of here before things get really bad."

Monica swore profusely as she reached Hector: for some bizarre reason, the idea of being stalled by something as ordinary as a car accident, while she was trying to rescue a beloved friend from the hungry horde of the living dead, seemed even more outrageous than the existance of zombies in the first place.

"What do we do now?" She finished.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:05, Mon 06 Oct 2008.

"Suppose it was a bit of a long shot to think that crash we heard wouldn't of hindered us in any way. Should of known better to think everything might just work out." said Hector in a pissed off fashion. Then, after taking out his frustration on a bit of stray trash he kicked around for a moment, he continued with a twinge of resignation, "Well I somehow doubt anyone could of walked away from that," he said gesturing at the wreck of a car,"but we should see if anyone inside's still among the living. Then, once the obvious is confirmed, we'll try and see if we can climb over. If not......jeez we'll have to get the others and see if can right the blasted thing and push it out of the way." Hector then pulled out and turned on his flashlight with his free hand and walked over to the car blockage.....

Nephi followed Jane's pointing finger and found the sword.  As he grabbed it, he said "Thanks Jane.  Led me right to it." He thought for a second before adding "Are you feeling okay?"

"Maybe I'm a little stressed..." Smiled Jane. "Let's get out of here!"

She led Geoff and Nephi out of the shop's backdoor and locked it behind her.

For good measure, she also removed Monica's improvised doorstop.

Geoff turned his back on jane as she locked the door to cover the alley behind her. He made a swift tactical magazine change and turned to check that Jane was OK.

As he did so, Jane lunged at him and caught him in a body check, his legs were twisted and he was off balance and went down like a hay bale, bruising his kidneys as he hit the deck hard, straddling him like a helion, Jane arched her back forward and planted a long, smouldering kiss on Geoff's lips. He melted momentarily, lost in the magic of the moment and the irresistable urgency of the girl pinning him to the floor.

A dull pain in the small of his back told him that he was laying awkwardly on his baton, either that or he was really glad to see Jane...

He moved beneath her and broke the kiss, "Hey, hun, I know you've always taken my breath away, but there's a time and place..."

Jane's eyes met his and he could swear that he saw a cloud pass from behind them, suddenly her eyes brightened and she frowned, "Sorry, hun," she echoed him, "I guess I'm not the only one who's irresistable today."

She released him from the most pleasant wrestling hold he'd ever experienced and helped him to his feet. Hell of a day, Geoff thought, hell of a day...
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:17, Thu 09 Oct 2008.

Despite the persistent ringing in Nephi's ears, he couldn't help but hear the thud when Jane tackled Geoff to the ground.  He was actually surprised that they hadn't bowled him over as well, they had landed so close.  "What the?  Jane?  Now's not the best time for that.  And normally you'd have waited until you were alone before jumping a guy like that.  Are you absolutely sure you're okay?"

Jane considered that for a moment: she was actually feeling much better.

And so was Geoff: it was like a weight they hadn't even noticed they were carrying had suddenly een removed from their shoulders.

"I... Am now." She replied - then nodded, mindful of Nephi's temporarily impaired hearing.

Shee took a deep breath and smiled: "Let's find Monica and Hector."

There was someone trapped inside the car, probably a woman - it was hard to tell with all the blood: apparently she(?) wasn't wearing her seat belt, and had been tossed around pretty badly as the car rolled over and crashed.

She was not moving, but it was hard to tell if she was alive.

  Hector called back behind him "Keep back Mon! There's someone in there, but I can't tell if she's alive, dead, or.......well both."
  He then crouched down and shined his flashlight directly into the possibly unconscious woman's face, rapped on the on the door with his pistol's barrel, and called out, "Miss........Miss, can you hear me?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:00, Fri 10 Oct 2008.

"Agreed." Nephi said.  He had swung the replica sabre several times, now that he had room, trying to get himself accustomed to the differences between the sabre and his usual rapier.

The woman moaned softly, but didn't move. It was impossible to tell if she was alive without crawling inside the wrecked car...

Gun still drawn, Jane walked up to Monica: "Are we stuck here?"

Without taking her eyes off Hctor, Monica replied: "Yeah... There's someone in the car, she may be alive."

Jane sniffed the air and looked at the pool of gasoline that was forming around the car: "One spark and she's medium/well done..."

"She's got a point," said Hector as he watched the pool of gas grow around them, "It might be a good idea to put these guns, we're randomly pointing around the place, away.", He then holstered his pistol, pulled out his billy-club, and handed it to Monica, "I'll pull her out, but if she suddenly comes, for lack of a better word, 'alive' and tries bite a chunk out of me give her a good whack. But no matter what happens no one shoots, got it?"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:06, Tue 14 Oct 2008.

Nephi also stood ready with his new sabre.  "I hope she really is alive, though I don't know how we'll get out past the zombies, or this car.  Think it's too risky to climb over before it blows?"

Geoff added, "We ain't getting out through the store. If we don't get over this wreck, we're dead anyway."

He holstered his pistol and drew his own nightstick, "I'll cover you too, Partner." he said.

Despite his bulk, Hector managed to slip inside the partly crushed window.

Now the only problem was, how to pull a person out of a crushed car without killing her in the process.

Without any form of rescue equipment, it took Hector several minutes to achieve this feat without breaking the woman's neck/puncturing her lungs/snapping her spine or any of the other fun complications of improvised rescues.

Finally, he managed to pull her out of the car without excessive additional damage.

Meanwhile, the pool of gasoline under the car had kept growing, and was now large enough to cover all sides of the vehicle.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:28, Thu 16 Oct 2008.

Hector put her down gently a little way away from the car/gas pool and looked her over,"Shit.......I know a little first aid, but....."

Nephi looked her over, and decided to leave well enough alone.  Her injuries looked too severe for his limited First Aid to be useful. 
"Any chance we could get her to a hospital?  Or would that be far too risky?  And what are we going to do about that leaking gas that almost has us trapped here?"

Geoff had a look around the alley way, "Look around quickly," he said, "we need a plank or something so we can carry her securly and without risking her spine. Something rigid that will take her weight will do. After that we can work out a way to get over the car."

And then, from the other side of the car, someone began pounding on the vehicle.

One... Two... Three... Yep, there were at least three, possibly more.

The car's roof did not look like it was sliding, even a bit, so the situation was not as immediately critical as it had been in the shop... Except of course the undead had all the time in the world, whereas the living needed to eat, drink, and all the other things living people do to stay that way.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:31, Sat 18 Oct 2008.

"I'm not sure what's worse: that there's a pack of the living dead on the other side of this car, pounding their way through, or that I actually didn't see this coming. Murphy's Law and all that."said Hector as he, once again, vented his frustration by kicking the trash around.
"Alright, nothing for it, the lightest of us -I'm looking in your direction, string bean, " he says nodding toward Nephi, "Is just going to have to climb on top of the wreck and tell us how bad it is. As it's still too dangerous to use the guns......." he stops and thinks for a moment.
"Well, if it's only two or three of 'em, Geoff and I can climb over and try and pull the 'football blocker routine' and push them back enough for the rest of you to come over. If there's more then that....afraid I'm clueless. We could try and find away to climb one of these buildings, but we'd have to leave our wounded little friend here even if we find a way."

Geoff nodded at Hector's suggestion, preoccupied with finding something to secure the casualty on, "That sounds OK, if it's fine with Nephi. What do you think, Nephi?"

Nephi thought carefully for a moment "I might not especially like the idea of being that close to zombies wanting to eat me, but I'm willing to help out.  Though I am worried that I'll have to draw them off to let you through.  I can keep running for a while, but I'm not the fastest guy around."  He looked at the wreck and the injured woman, then muttered "Here goes." as he started climbing.

To climb on the car, Nephi simply grabbed onto whatever stuck out, which  in this case happened to be the muffler.

Then, to his utmost displeasure, he found out that a catalytic converter, in order to operate efficiently, needs to be quite hot.

Dropping back on the pavement, and looking at is burned hand, Nephi couldn't help but think that, if the gasoline on everyone's shoes got in contact with something that hot... Now, that was not a pretty thought.

"Ow!" Nephi yelled.  "That's hot!  We've got a big problem.  If we want to check out the other side, we have to step into the gas puddle, then climb on the car while avoiding the hot spots.  I'm also worried about what's going to happen when the gas fumes get hot enough..."

"Ah jeez, sorry pal! Didn't think anything would still be on." Hector said, chagrined. He then looks upward and rubbed his chin in thought "Let me think......... hey does anyone know how to hot-wire a car? If so we could drive a car from the parking lot right up to the wreck, climb on top, and simply run across the roof and leap across the overturned one without having to touch it! Of course I'd still like to know just how many zombies are on the other side; leaping blindly into a possible horde doesn't sound like much fun....."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:00, Mon 20 Oct 2008.

"No idea, sorry.  I could help push one though." said Nephi.

"Not a bad idea," Geoff nodded, "I did some hotwiring when I was in traffic, I'll give it a go if you want." he gestured over to the parked cars, "Any preferences?"

"Well a tall, long, flat-topped van would be ideal, but if you could find one of those tank sized SUVs or mini-vans....." Hector said with a grin slowly forming on his face, "You know.....this is kind of ironic. If this neighborhood is filled with a bunch of 'environmentally conscious' people then we're pretty much screwed; as all you'll find are bunch of squat little compacts."

"Well, let's see what we've got here," Geoff looked around for a suitable vehicle, he looked over at Jane, "You got any preferences, Hun?"

Jane bit her lower lip and looked around. The closest thing to Hector's description was a ten-years-old VW Vanagon Camper...

(( http://auto.howstuffworks.com/volkswagen-bus10.htm ))

"Think that would do?" She asked, nodding her head toward the thing.

Geoff nodded and smiled, "That's perfect, I'll try hotwiring it now, and if that doesn't work, Nephi's right, we can push it there."

He walked up to the bug and tapped out the small plate of glass near the wing morror. Then he drew his pistol and checked the inside, not wanting any more surprises that day.

The vehicle was clean - more accurately, empty... OK, to be precise, there was nobody in it.

As for being empty, there was a lot of junk amassed in it, and as for being clean... Yeah, well, at least there was nobody inside it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:56, Wed 22 Oct 2008.

Geoff put his hand in and popped the lock. He opened the door and swept the broken glass clear. That done, he checked behind the driver's sun visor and in the exhaust pipe for the keys. He'd known lots of Bug drivers that kept losing their keys and kept them in those painfully obvious places, in fact, he should have checked the pipe before smashing the glass.

"Do'oh!" he said to himself softly as he looked for the keys.

A small bundle of keys and duct-tape fell in Geoff's lap as he checked the sun visor. Geoff had to wonder for a brief moment about the logic behind the duct-tape, but then the pounding on the overturned car brought him back to more pressing concerns...

Geoff put the key in the ignition and started the Bug up. He turned it and crawled it up to the wrecked car. The banging from the other side concerned him, it meant more of those freaks.

"Ok," he called, "what do we do next?"

Hector picked up the unconscious woman again and called back, "Well the rest of us get our asses out of this alley, and you drive up to the wreck." After which Hector sprinted back out....
This message was last edited by the player at 02:47, Mon 27 Oct 2008.

"Here's hoping that the other zombies haven't broken through those other doors yet." Nephi said as he followed Hector.

Geoff drove the Bug slowly up to the wreck and stopped just before the bumper touched the ruined car. He squirmed into the back of the van and stood up in the sunroof in order to see what was the other side of the wreck.

Good news: it was quite easy to jump from the top of the van to what used to be the bottom of the wrecked car, and from there on the other side.

Bad news: whoever tried that would have to evade five zombies...
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:42, Mon 27 Oct 2008.

"Damn it." Geoff said, "We have five of those things ready to jump us if we go over. As I see it we have two optons, I can try ramming the wreck and pushing it out of the way with you all following in another car, or I can jump over and try to draw the things away before you all jump. Any other bright ideas would be gratefully recieved as I don't really like either of my ideas."

Hector put the woman down, in the empty parking spot,and thought on this for a moment before walking over to where Geoff was parked,
  "I'm sorry to say, if this a movie, it isn't Rambo, or any other 'over-the-top' 'get-away-with-anything' action flick. No, in zombie movies people tend to get punished for doing stupid things, like say ramming an overturned vehicle that's spilling gas all over the place. It'll be just like that time in Night of the Living Dead where they're all nice and secure inside when they get the bright idea of tearing down their own barricades, going back out, running in several different directions, and lighting a few fires that can be seen for miles around. And I rather not be in the kind of movie where people are yelling at the screen 'DON'T DO THAT, YOU IDIOT!'" he ends again with thematic florish.
 "So the only other option I see, besides you or I leaping over and distracting the horde, is trying to break into this other building making up the alley, as our diner is already filled with zed, hope it's 'uncontaminated', and make it to the other side. It'd be a little tricky though, likely involving breaking an upper story window and pushing someone suitably light, either Nephi or Jane, through, hoping there isn't already a horde up there waiting for him/her, and waiting for them to make it to the back door. It'll eat up a lot of time.......which we may not have." that last bit was said with a touch of dread to it, "Ummmmmm, you never quite told me the situation in the diner....... once they broke through the front door did they just stumble around, or did they go after you three? And are they now pounding through the backdoor?"

"There's an iron door between them and us: if we find some behind us, the one thing I know is that they won't have come through our shop." Replied Jane with conviction.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:47, Wed 29 Oct 2008.

Monica looked at her friend: "J, my keys are in the shop: if you closed the backdoor, we are not going back that way..."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:48, Wed 29 Oct 2008.

"Five of them?" said Nephi.  "I'm for trying out the other building.  Really don't think any of us would be able to evade five of them - unless they're really slow.  Besides, anything done by the person who goes over to draw them off would just attract more of them from other directions."

"I'll try getting over the wreck if you want," Geoff volunteered, "at least I'm armed, or I'm happy to try the other buildings, we can drive the bug under a fire escape. Whichever people decide is fine with me, but we need to act fast, things aren't getting any better with time."

 Hector gave this one a long, hard, thought, "I'll check out the other building. I have urban recon training; alone I have the best chance to quickly, and quietly, check it out without mishap. And if anything happens......well you'll still have one cop to help you lot out of this." he said with a smile at his lame attempt at bringing humor to the situation toward the end there.
 "Okay, move the van under the fire-escape. And give me twenty minutes to either open the backdoor or come barreling back out the building through the window. After that, try my original plan of leaping over. Don't bother going after me....won't be much point unless you too want to get ate. Oh and here-" he then produced the keys to the cruiser and dangled them toward Geoff to grab....
This message was last edited by the player at 06:40, Sun 02 Nov 2008.

"OK, man, be careful in there," Geoff said, taking the keys and driving the Bug under a fire escape.

He got out of the bus and looked at the injured woman. As he tried to judge her wounds he said, "Hey, Nephi, do you have any first aid training? Her wounds are too complex for what I know."

As he stood looking at the injured woman again, Nephi felt a rush of insight, and knew that the Lord wanted him to bless her, wanted to use him to ease the suffering of one of His children.  Not knowing her name didn't matter, he somehow knew everything he needed to know, and knew that his faith was needed.  Nephi reached into his pocket for his vial of consecrated oil, and, somewhat distracted, said to Geoff "Not really, but the Lord has seen fit to bless me with something better."
He moved quickly to the woman, anointed her head with a drop of oil, laid his hands on her, and bestowed the blessing that would hopefully save her life.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:58, Tue 04 Nov 2008.

Monica looked as the woman's wounds healed miracolously under her eyes: "I know I should be shocked... But my day has begun with the discovery that dead are walking the Earth: I think I'm all awed-out."

  As this miraculous event was taking place below, Hector was completely missing it as he was busy standing on top of the van, examining a window.
"Window's sealed up tight" he called down, "Unless one of you has an axe on 'em we aren't getting through without help from inside."
  He then looked up for a minute, "Looks like the fire-escape goes all the way to the roof though. We could climb all the way up, and assuming there's another fire-escape on the other side, just walk over and climb down. I'll check it out first, make sure there isn't another car wreck and/or horde waiting for us there."
  At which point he began climbing.....
This message was last edited by the player at 22:05, Tue 04 Nov 2008.

Geoff nodded at Hector's suggestion, damned good idea. He looked at Nephi with his laying on of hands.

"If you can do it, Sir, you'll have my respect, just don't go pulling any Toronto Blessings out of the hat..."

He turned the engine off to preserve gas and headed to the back of the Bug. Hopefully they had a stove, a stove with coffee, a stove with coffee and doughnuts. Mmm...doughnuts.

Nephi looked at the woman again and wondered how long it would be before she woke up.  He also glanced at Geoff, not quite hearing what he'd said.  "Did you say Toronto blessings?  What's a Toronto blessing?"

"That's a good answer," Geoff replied. He looked around to make sure there were no nasty little surprises in their tiny enclave.

The woman groaned and opened her eyes. She saw her overturned car, the cop standing near her, the blood on her hands and clothes, and looked about ready to freak out.

And she didn't even know about the zombies yet...

---

Hector's ascent was mercifully uneventful. All the security grates on the windows were firmly locked, and closed curtains preserved the privacy of the building's inhabitants.

When he got to the top of the stairs, however, Hector got another unpleasant surprise: the staircase didn't get all the way to the roof.

Truth be told, it wasn't that bad: he could probably lift the others enough for them to climb their way up, but it wasn't going to make things any easier than strictly necessary.

Nephi started grinning.  "She's awake!" he announced, before excitedly asking a couple of questions.  "Hi, I'm Nephi Swanson.  What's your name, and how are you feeling?"

Geoff looked at Nephi with respect, the guy had been calm and together through the worst of it, but this healing really was something. His stomach had been knotting about trying to escape with a stretcher case and how he'd be able to convince the others to leave her. Now there might be no need.

"Good work, man. I'm really impressed."

Still bewildered, the woman looked around, breathing heavily: "Karen... Karen Baker. Is this blood mine? But I'm not feeling any pain... Am I dying? What happened?"

   And so Hector climbed back down, not that anyone noticed, and he called out just as he was leaving the van, "Looks like I was wrong: the fire-escape doesn't quite make it all the way to the top. I could push someone else the rest of-"
and he stopped as he saw that everyone was clustered tightly around the parking space where he left the wounded woman from the car, and cautiously walked up, "What's up guys? Did she die or something?"

Nephi paused a second to consider what to tell her, then decided the full truth would probably be best.  "Well, from what I could see when you were pulled out by the other officer, yes Karen, you were dying.  However, you have been chosen as the recipient of a miracle.  The Lord saw fit to use me as a tool, and healed you."
Just then the magnitude of the experience hit, and he sat down.  "Wow.  My first healing.  I've seen others blessed by the Lord before, and helped some myself, but this is the first time He has let His will be known so strongly with such immediate results.  I must give a prayer of thanks."  He retires slightly from the group and quietly prays.

"Nope," Geoff answered Hector, "Nephi layed on hands and prayed to God, and healed her. It was cool, but a bit spooky. Still, I'm glad he's on our side. We could take the ladder off the back of the Bug, it's eight feet long and we could hook it onto the roof, give us a reach of about twevle feet. Would that be enough?"

At that point ole Hector gave Geoff a long, hard, stare, rubbed his temples, turned around, shook his head, and gave a long groan.
"You know........this time yesterday I was just coming home from another one of these long, early morning, shifts when I realized I couldn't find my apartment keys and would have to talk to my senile, old, German, super, who I might add is so horribly racist I suspect he's an actual Nazi war criminal. 'This', I thought to myself, 'is going to be the worst day of the week'. Now just as I was about to come off another, if possible, longer shifts I got a wee little call from another officer and was asked to handle a problem with a mutual friend of ours. That problem turned into an actual, honest-to-god, zombie that tried to eat us, then a horde of them beat the front door down; and now we're stuck between two hordes and you just casually, as if you were talking about the weather, told me one of us is a Saint that just brought someone back to life with a touch of his hands?! What next is it going to be?! WHAT FUCKING NEXT, DAMN YOU?!" he ended, screaming at the heavens above!
This message was last edited by the player at 22:47, Sun 09 Nov 2008.

A thunder cracked above their heads. Seconds later, it was raining hard.

Jane looked at Hector: "You really had to say that, didn't you?"

Geoff stepped away from Hector, distancing himself from the man, he mumbled quietly, "Just cause he's my partner, doesn't mean I agree with the man. You hear that, God?"

Now really didn't seem to be the time to be pissing the bigman off. He cleared his throat, "OK, what do you say to Hector leading the way over the building, Jane and Monica backing him up with the hand cannons and the Karen and Nephi ready to lay down mojo if he needs to? I'll bring up the rear."

Having finished his prayer of thanks, Nephi rejoins the group - still standing in the rain - just in time to hear Geoff's suggestion.  "Only problem I see with that is when the Lord wants me to bestow a blessing, it takes a little time to do it right."

"OK, it's good to know the parameter we're working in, thanks, Nephi," Geoff replied, "I'm still sure you can contribute with your sabre even if the miracles aren't on quick release. So do we go with that order or does anyone else have an idea?"

Those purple clouds. The smell. The rain......DEAR GOD, THE RAIN!!!

"Oh shit......oh shit." Hector whispered, in a terrified manner, as the terrible, cabbage smelling, rain fell upon them before speaking up for everyone. "Yeah great, whatever guys. Now let's get the lead out, I don't want to be out in this longer then necessary!"

After which he bolted for the van!
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:38, Sat 15 Nov 2008.

The ladder from the van proved unexpectedly difficult to pass up from floor to floor through the emergency stairs, but with a good amount of cooperation, they finally managed to reach the roof of the building. It was still pouring rain, and eveybody was soaking wet by the time they stopped.

This was, in a way, a mixed blessing: on one hand, Karen's hands and face were no longer covered in blood, which seemed to help her peace of mind somewhat.

On the other hand, while the air wasn't cold, it was still September, and if they didn't manage to find a shelter before dark it was not going to be a pleasant night.

On the gripping hand, Jane's T-shirt was, by then, completely transparent. She didn't seem to mind but, since she wasn't wearing any bra, the men of the group were bound to find it... Distracting.

Looking down, the girls surveyed the streets: the zombies had left the wrecked car. A couple of them were wandering aimlessly nearby, the others had apparently found a new purpose (or a new prey) and were nowhere to be seen.

"OK," Geoff asked, looking around the street, "do we keep going down in a group or do we send a few people down to secure the cars and then go down when they are ready? I'd prefer to stick together, but I'm open to persuasion?"

 Hector surveyed the scene below as well, and with growing interest.

"They knew. Somehow.......those things knew there was no one left down there. It's like they can sense living people up to a few yards away, and when we went past their range they just wandered away. Shit......this is bad. It means the moment we try and go back down there the mob will just reform where we try and drop down....."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:40, Sun 16 Nov 2008.

Geoff was absorbed by the front of Jane's t-shirt, even the apocalyspse seemed to have it's up sides....

What was that Hector said? More bad news, but it made sense, "That's good deduction, partner," Geoff agreed, "now I can see you weren't just bulling about that Gold Shield. Even if you're wrong, it's best to carry on assuming you're right. Whatever, we need to get down and put some distance between us and those things, as well as pick up "Lover Boy". Let's get down the escape and see what happens from there. Shall I play "Tail end Charlie again?"

Nephi missed the conversation, due to still ringing ears, and singing hymns in his mind to avoid any distraction from Jane's wet T-shirt.

"Can't say as I know exactly how this 'zombie life sense' thing works" said Hector after another moment of thought, "but if I had to guess I'd say the more living people there are the easy it is for them to detect, and the more of them will show up. So if we all head down there at once we'll probably face a horde of the living dead before we even reach the cars!. So I think it'd make more sense if only one or two of us go down to the ground to bring the cars into the alley, while the rest of you wait up here. So......besides the cruiser, who else has a car parked out front?" 

Monica thought for a moment: "I think we can still follow the same plan we came up with in the shop..." She threw a look at Karen, then back to Hector: "But someone will have to be in the back of your car."

"Karen can ride in the back of the cruiser," Geoff suggested, "that way we can all fit in and get the hell away from here."

 Hector pulled their mini-ladder up from where they left it on the fire-escape, walked over with it to the fire-escape on the hopefully unblocked side of the building, and lowered said ladder down.

"So partner, you want to make the 'run for the car' this time, or should I?"

Geoff looked up and down the street, "You go, you're faster and I'm the steadier shot, I'll keep you covered."

Having realised that people were talking, Nephi concentrates on the conversation and asks "Were we going to drive anywhere in particular?  And once the zombies start showing, how are the rest of us going to get down to the cars fast enough to avoid them?"

  "Oh right" said Hector with a nod towards Nephi, "you don't know him. Well that guy that called us, warning us of the imminent zombie attack, is a fellow officer and mutual friend; who is hopefully still safely barricaded uptown, and needs our help. We'll figure out what to do from there once we burn that bridge."

  "Now I suggest the rest of you wait just a couple minutes then start coming down the fire-escape, one at a time, as quickly as you can. We'll need to get you all in the cruiser as fast as possible, since if my theory is correct once the six of us are all near the ground level they'll start amassing.

  "Oh and I'll need those keys back, Geoff."

Geoff threw the keys over to Hector and pulled out his service pistol. He looked over at his partner and said, "Good to go, partner."

Nephi looked down again, and said "There's no way six of us will fit into the cruiser.  We need my car too.  Plus, if we get a chance, I'd like to get into one of my fencing uniforms.  I'll look completely rediculous, but the padding will help a little when a zombie's trying to eat me."

"I think Nephi is right, if we go one at a time the zombies are going to surround the car."

Then she paused for a moment: "Did I really just say zombies? This is so surreal..."

  "Oh I think we could all squeeze in, but you're right," said Hector as he picked up and pocketed the keys to the cruiser, "two cars makes more sense; in case of accident if nothing else. But speed is the issue, two cars means two people heading down. I'd rather it wasn't you Nephi; if you really did what these guys claim you did you may be our best hope of getting out of this alive. Besides, my dearly departed mother would be rather upset with me if I wantonly endangered a Saint. So who else is going?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:02, Wed 26 Nov 2008.

Nephi looked a little embarressed at Hector calling him a Saint.  "I'm trying my best, but I'm no saint.  Besides, any faithful elder of the church could have done what the Lord inspired me to do." He got his keys out of his pocket and said "Still, is anyone else a fast runner who can recognise my car?  I wouldn't feel right about letting someone else go unless they had a better chance then me of getting to it."

Jane sighed, and held her hand out: "I think I can outrun all of you guys... I'll go."

"By the way, Nephi... I don't care if you are a saint or not, if you don't stop not staring at my breasts I think your head will explode. So, don't worry: I know I have a great body, and I won't hold it against you."

She turned to look at Hector and Geoff: "Yes, I have been on the receiving end of that particular pick-up line, and no, it did not work: even I have minimum standards."

Geoff cleared his throat self-consciously and then said, "OK, why don't we all move down to the lowest level of the fire escape and then Hector and Jane can get the cars. Monica and I can keep guard from up here. If any zombies do appear, we'll shoot to slow them down."

Jane smiled and walked up to Geoff: "Just in case..."

With that, she planted a passionate but very gentle kiss on him: "Keep an eye on me, will you?" And then, almost as an afterthought: "But try to keep one on the bad guys too. It's in your best interest, you know..." She winked at him, then pulled out her gun and nodded at Hector.

"The way you look it'd be impossible not to keep an eye on you," Geoff replied, "be careful down there, I'll be looking out for you but you need to look out for yourself too. As soon as you get the car going I'll be down and right beside you."

Nephi looked even more embarressed as he gave the keys to Jane, and listened to what she said.  "I know you'd consider it a compliment and all Jane, having guys you like looking at you, but it's not something I feel comfortable doing.  It seems rude to stare."

  Hector guffawed and slapped Nephi on the back, "She's just razzing you! From my experience she doesn't mind the attention of men one bit!"

  He then whispered so only Nephi could hear, "It might not mean anything but Geoff was bitten by one of those things, and from what I remember from the movies that is never a good thing. If your.........powers could keep him from turning into something I'd probably have to shoot in the head, well I'd appreciate it."

  Hector then  said for everyone, "Well let's not waste any more time! I'll go first."

  As quickly, and quietly, as possible Hector started the climb downwards......
This message was last edited by the player at 17:09, Mon 01 Dec 2008.

Jane followed Hector down the staircase. As soon as her feet touched the ground, a moan from a not-too-far alley made her turn around.

Geoff heard the moan and looked around frantically trying to see the creature it came from. He remained quiet, shouting mightattract these things. His gunfire certainly would so he wanted to be sure that every shot counted.

Nephi saw Geoff start looking around, and started looking around down at the ground himself.

  "Shit," said Hector turning around, "We do not have time for this! Geoff, be a dear and come down to block this thing." Not waiting for an answer he then sprinted for the cruiser.....

"Just get in the cars," he called, "I'll deal with shambling boy as we come down."

Geoff waited to get a bead on the thing, "Let's get close to the bottom, I'll try to put it down and you can run for the cars, I'll keep dropping it til you get there. Nephi, does your car have a sun roof?"

He began to move down the stairs. At the second floor platform he intended to stop and start hitting the thing so the others could get into the cars.

"No, never liked the things.  Shooters in my car will have to make do with the windows." Nephi replied as he prepared to move down - though he intended to wait for the other girls to go before him.

Jane looked around for several seconds, trying to find Nephi's car. When she found it, she sprinted for it.

Shocked, the zombie followed her with its eyes, apparently outraged at the sudden speed of its intended prey.

Finishing her run with a handspring on the car's rooftop, Jane turned around in mid-air and landed on the other side of the vehicle, facing to the driver's door.

A split second later, she'd opened the door and was turning the key in the ignition.

Monica grinned: "Hah... Showoff."

She ran down the stairs, and aimed at the half-stunned zombie.

As the undead turned around to look at the new morsel, she pumped three bullets in the creature: the first hit it in the body; the second bullet got it in the jaw, shattering it beyond any biting ability; the final one hit squarely in the head. The creature stumbled and fell back.

Then she started running toward Hector's car.

Just as a second zombie appeared.

From the Queen's Gambit's entrance.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:55, Tue 09 Dec 2008.

Geoff was admiring Jane's acrobatics and Monica's shooting when he noticed the zombie coming out of the Queen's Gambit. He was pretty sure that he couldn't repeat Monica's feat so instead he aimed for the creature's kneecaps. He aimed and fire a shot at each kneecap and a final one to the body in case his riskier shots missed.

"Get to the cars!" he yelled.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:00, Fri 12 Dec 2008.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck" repeated Hector endlessly as he fumbled for the right key to open the driver's seat door, as bullets flew right over his head! Finally finding the right one he then practically ripped the door open, lunged in, and quickly got the ignition going, even as he unlocked and kicked open the passenger seat.

"Mon, mind grabbing Karen and getting that cute little ass of yours in here, before they bite it off!?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:35, Tue 09 Dec 2008.

 Geoff's first bullet hit, the second missed, and the third knocked down the second zombie -- hey, it's Funeral Guy! Guess those folks in the shop didn't go far after all.

Which would mean... Yep, there he was, right on schedule, The Boy Who Didn't Live.

Seeing the undeads multiplying like flies, Karen suddenly started running toward the car... And she tripped.

And then, inexplicably - quite preposterously, too - Nephi was right there beside her, ready to catch her as she fell.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:56, Tue 09 Dec 2008.

As he ran for the cars, one hand still holding the sabre, Nephi kept an eye on Karen and stayed close by her in case she needed any help.  When she tripped on a loose bit of the sidewalk, he reached out with his free hand to steady her and keep her moving towards his car.

00:11, Today: Nephi Swanson rolled 9 using the Unisystem system (1d10+6) with rolls of 3. Double Strength?  Kinda hope this works...

Nephi easily caught Karen before she could fall. She smiled tentatively at him, the "I'm-about-ready-to-break" look still in her eyes but just that bit more distant.

Finally they reached Nephi's car, just as Jane finished pulling out of the parking spot. Moments later, Monica had also reached the police cruiser and was sitting next to Hector.

The only guy still out in the open now was Geoff... And the zombies had taken notice.

Geoff saw the others reaching the cars and glanced at the all too familiar shambling monsters. He'd bought the time to get to the vehicles, now it was time to get the Hell out of Dodge. He turned and raced toward Jane in Nephi's car.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:59, Fri 12 Dec 2008.

More zombies poured out of the shop, just in time to watch as their last available prey sprinted away from them. They made a half-hearted attempt at grabbing at him, but even the closest one was just a tad beyond reach.

As soon as Geoff got in the car, Jane pushed on the gas pedal.

She didn't quite floor it, though: no need, when the fastest of the undead was moving at about the speed of a tired snail.

"Well, that was fun..." She grinned.