"I think the "catch" will be the hordes of undead."

"Oh... Right. Forgot about those." Jane chuckled. "Do you think we'll find many of them inside the fort?"

"If we find any inside the fort then it means it's most likely been overrun, and I doubt we'd be able to clear the fort out before more show up."<red> Karen says being realistic, <red>"But whether it's fallen or not, we still have to get there to find out."

"Well there's no sense in us all going if we just need to reconnoiter the fort. Geoff and I could make a quick survey, see if the gates are still standing and what not, and come back for everyone else."

Nephi looked at Hector "With all due respect, if anyone's going, we all go.  You heard the Reverend, it'll take a couple of hours to get there.  That's a couple of hours there, a quarter of an hour or so to see if it looks safe, and another couple of hours to get the rest of us.  Too long.  And it'd use too much gas."

"I have to agree with Nephi on this," Allan said. "As he pointed out, once you've checked out the fort, it will take you a couple of hours to get back here, and another couple of hours to go back to the fort with the rest of us. The situation at the fort could change dramatically in that time frame, so any information you gained may not be valid by the time we get there."

"I don't think our current location offers us the best chance at longterm survival, so my wife and I intend to leave. I'll share my vehicle and it's resources with anyone who would like to come with us. We'll go to Fort Monroe first, in the hopes that the military has secured that location and we can join up with other survivors. If Fort Monroe is lost, then the next best fortified location would be Fort Knox. Fort Knox is about an 11 hour drive from Fort Monroe. If the highways become congested with abandoned vehicles and overrun with infected, then we'll head to the  mountains, away from populated areas." Allan looked at the group. "That's the best plan I've been able to come up with."

"Well," Geoff said, "that sounds like a plan. Does everyone agree?"

  "I'd rather not completely abandon this place, if nothing else it'd make for a good rendezvous point should we get separated or some-such. Plus......well Nephi you really don't look like you're in any condition to travel. And Edgar well....." at which point Hector got uncomfortable and stared at the ceiling looking for the right words, "ummm, your wife..... she's not..... quite alright. I really don't want to expose her to more of those..... things." 

"Then wouldn't it be best to get both Nephi and his your wife to a safe location where trained medical professionals can help them?" Karen asked looking toward Edgar before giving her two cents, "If we stay here we'll be safe for now, but if we don't go, we'll evetually run out of supplies, not to mention patience with one another." She says glancing toward Nephi for a milisecond before continuing, "So I say we follow the Reverand's idea, we all go, check it out, if it's safe we stay, if not we move on. What do the rest of you think?"

"We are not coming." Announced the doctor. "The house is as safe as anywhere else, we have provisions for several months, we will wait here."

"You can't outwait this wave, Doc." Replied Xynthia in a serious tone: "There was a Minister out there, which means the Preaching has begun. Now, once the number of Faithful in an area is large enough, the Ministers will raise a Bishop, there's no doubt about that. When that happens, the situation will be reversed: the air will become poisonous for you, but a source of nourishment for them. You will be the ones with only three days of life left, not the Arisen."

Nephi stares at Xynthia in shock, before he starts speaking "Well, crap.  Enough zombies means we start dying a lot faster."  He stopped, noticing that he was speaking French and repeated himself in English.  "That lovely piece of news changes my opinion - pack up what we can in a hurry, stop off to fill up the cars and get more supplies on the way to the Fort.  If the Fort's overrun, find somewhere else, but above all we move fast."

"You don't need to concern yourself with my wife, Officer. Allan reached out and took Xynthia's hand. "I'll look after her." He turned toward the senior Doctor S. "I can't make anyone come with us, but as the number of infected increase, they'll fill the streets surrounding this home. Anyone who stays will eventually be trapped inside this house, with no way to leave or get more supplies. As I said, this won't be over in three days. We need to make long term plans for how we're going to survive. At some point, after the people running the power plants are either dead or infected, things like electricity and running water will cease to function. We need to find a location that we can eventually make self-sustaining. I'm afraid your small house, no matter what you've done to reinforce it, simply does not offer the long term resources we will need."

Monica stood up and moved toward Hector. For her, this town held too many reminders of a crappy childhood with her criminal father. Leaving was easy. But she realized that for Hector, and some of the others, it might be much harder to abandon their homes. She gently placed her hand on Hector's arm and spoke in a quiet, softened tone. "I don't want to be trapped in this house, just sitting around waiting to die. I need to be doing something. Out there, at least we'd have a fighting chance."

Xynthia grabbed hold of her husbands arm and rested her head on his shoulder, smiling.

Taking a deep breath, Doc S said: "I know you are afraid, confused, it's understandable, but whatever you may think of them, the parasites cannot simply ignore the laws of thermodynamics: without a source of energy, they will soon be unable to animate the corpses, and eventually to even sustain their own existence. Well before our supplies run off, there will no longer be any so-called undead."

"Doctor, please... I don't want something bad happen to you and your wife. Please, come with us."

The doctor's expression softened: "We will be okay, Xynthia, I promise. And you don't need to leave now: why don't you think it over for a night? Maybe in the morning you will see things differently."

"If we stay any longer, we will be trapped." Replied Jane pragmatically: "Either the roads will fill with abandoned cars, and we will be forced to turn around, or the zombies will surround the house. We got lucky last time, but I don't want to try and fight fifty of those things at once."

Eddie retrieved his shotgun and nodded: "Jane's right... If these things attack the living, they will spread like the flu: one case becomes ten, then a hundred, then a thousand. If we spend the night, well have made our decision."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:25, Sat 04 July 2009.

Anton sighed: "Then I'm coming with you."

"Antek?" Asked Mrs. S worriedly.

"Mom, you and dad will be fine here, but these people might need a doctor. And they will certainly need someone who has experience with the parasites..."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:29, Sat 04 July 2009.

Taking Nephi's hands into her own as she sits back down beside him, Karen lays her head on his shoulder, turning ever so slightly so that her lips barely brushed against his ear and whispered, "Don't say that... we'll make it, I'm sure we will." Her whisper falling upon his ear alone, in a language only he and she understood, french.

Nephi started slightly at Karen's actions, before looking at her, smiling slightly, and replying "The Lord will look after us.  After all, He gave me the gift which saved you."

Smiling Karen rests her head on Nephi's shoulder, nodding slightly as she replied, "He did." She says before sitting up as the others spoke and probably wondered what she and Nephi were saying to eachother.

Allan stood up. "Those of us that are leaving need to hit the road. Hampton is a large city and we can't get to the fort without driving through it. If we wait any longer, I'm afraid it will be impassable." He walked over to Dr. Szczedrzykowicz and his wife. Allan held his arm out to shake the doctor's hand. "Good luck to you."

"OK," Geoff agreed, "Hector, shall we lead the way in the patrol car?"

  "Alright," said Hector, with resignation, as he walked over to the door and started undoing the locks & bolts, "honk 3 times in rapid succession if you need me to stop, Rev. And remember, everyone, this place is our fall back should the shit the fan. Grab what you're going to take quickly now, and let's get out of here!"

"Wait!" Xynthia's tone was a mix of worry and confusion. "There's something out there..."