Z-Day 007 Pt 2- Thor's Journal
Day Seven Part 2 – the Long Run
an ATZ FFO Batrep
Day 1 – TMP link
Day 2 – TMP link
Day 3 – TMP link
Day 4 – TMP link
Day 5 Pt1 – TMP link
Day 5 pt2 – TMP link
Day 6 TMP link
Day 7 Pt 1 TMP link
I picked Gwen up from where she lay clutching her sprained ankle [-2" to movement until healed] and we ran with Becca and the new girl Ginger hot on our heels. The horrible moaning of the Zombies followed us into the early evening gloom. There was only one place we could go and without a second thought I lead everyone towards Abu's Circle K two blocks away. I only hoped that Stark was still there and that they would let us in. After we came out of the alley and onto another street, I stopped to make sure we were clear of pursuit. There did not seem to be any Zeds within sight, so I told the girls my plan. Ginger, would help Gwyn walk as I would lead and fight any Zombies we encounter along the way while Becca would be our shadow. The brave girl had her hand tightly within Gwyn's. I asked Ginger if she could shoot a pistol, offering her my Glock. With a shaky nod she indicated yes.
As we walked along silently, the street lamps flickered on and I hoped we would make it there before it got dark [The first random event would be nightfall with Line of Sight then being limited to 6" unless illuminated somehow, like say by a streetlight]. We eased quietly thru the deserted streets, things were going smoothly, too smoothly, until we rounded a corner a block away from the Circle K…
Showing where street lights illuminate.
Looking into the evening gloom [what I imagine the area looked like]
we rounded a corner a block away from the Circle K…
a pack of Zombies staggered out of the pool of light around the street lamp, their mouths opening to let loose that maddening hungry moan
We form a wedge, keeping Becca behind us as they charge
I knock two down with my Luger, but the bolt locks open! My last mag ran empty!
then it gets rough, Gwen knocks hers down
I crush the Zombie's skull in front of me, then turn to help Ginger who is struggling for her life
Gwen steps up to finish off the Zeds floundering on their backs in the street
I put the Zed out of it's misery
but the moans of more come from the alley across the street as the last light of day fades
[It is now night, Line of sight is now 6"]
a pair stagger under the street lamp and I look into the gloom, but there seem to be no more
[the D10 represents a PEF (Possible Enemy Force) and turns out to be nothing but the encounter rated goes up 1]
I holstered the Luger and pulled out my Katana
we push forward slowed by Gwen's ankle
I knock them down and the Ladies finish them off with shots to the head
We hear something in the alley to our right
Tennessee National Guard! We're saved!
It turns out only to be two Guardsmen and they tell us in no uncertain terms to clear the street.
We don't argue and start on our way as they warily watch us go
thats when we see what we thought was a clear street turn out to be blocked by a car wreck
but maybe we can squeeze past
Zombies come lurching out of the first alley and stagger in the direction of all the noise
from behind us we hear a fusillade of shots ring out as the Guardsman engage
The wreck is nasty and I don't think we can easily get by, not with Gwen hurt
We decide to go over the fence and through the abandoned lot on the corner
The fence is awfully rickety
We keep hearing shots
We need to leave NOW
all that gunfire is sure to bring more!
and more shots
then a full auto burst
the moans grow loader
a long burst of automatic gunfire rips out thru the night
They're all around us! I hear a Guardsman yell!
a scream rises above the fray
a Zed staggers out of the trash at our feet
another scream
then no more shots, just the moans
I decapitate the crawler and tell the girls to stay here
they look at me like I am crazy, but I leave them anyway
running back to help the Guardsmen
Hurry! Gwen yells behind me. The fear in her voice ices my heart.
A Guardsman is fighting for his life, bashing left and right with his rifle.
I hit the zeds from behind, clearing a hole and yelling for the standing Guardsman to run for it.
His comrade clearly a goner.
[the d6 shows how many turns the dead man will entertain the Zombie's Feast]
As the man runs for it, I lay about me with the Katana
I fight my way clear and
catch up to the Guardsman as he sprints to the girls
behind us the moaning of feasting Zeds tears at our souls
Come with us, I tell the Guardsman
with a nod he agrees and covers us as we scramble over the wooden fence
Ginger falls, injuring her leg. What is it with legs tonight?
[Ginger is now at -2" move until healed]
The Guardsman joins us
as I go take care of the lone Zombie
but like Pringles,
there's never just one [the last PEF resolves into a Zed pack]
I fall back and we form up
protecting the women protecting Becca
here they come
the Guardsman lets loose with a burst, dropping a pair
as the rest charge us
I cut down two as he bashs one with his rifle butt
I hear the moan, we have to move
they must be done with the dead Guardsman
We slowly advance
the Ladies legs are both giving them a lot of pain
but we keep moving
as we finally see the Circle K
a crash of splintering wood and a hungry howl behind us spurs us forward
we rush towards the store
whats that? Mr Sanford's 56 Ford is at his shop?
as we advance on the shop, I yell for Stark
and they keep coming
we stop, not wanting to get caught against the building
Stark where the hell are you
Contact Rear!
Stark!
They're coming!
Shots echo in the night!
Ginger starts to cry while Becca screams, pointing down the alley
Stark!
The Guardsman lays about with his rifle!
The steel door rattale up and Stark motions us in.
We all run, scrambling in, barely ahead of the hoard!
Stark slammed the roll down steel security door shut behind us and locked it hurriedly as angry Zeds began to pound on it.
We made it!
Behind us sounds angry moans and frustrated Zeds fists slamming futilely on the steel.
Turning to me with a grin, he pulled me into a bear hug while saying, "It's good to see you man. This splitting up the band was for the birds." The Zombies futilely banged on the heavy metal as I quickly brought him and Abu up to speed and asked the important could we stay question. There was no question about Stark. The conversation with Abu was brisk, but it was soon agreed that we should all stay together for the duration, here. That's when Ginger and National Guardsman both said, "No!" Why not? "They're declaring Martial Law over Riverton and the surrounding area," Ginger said "I heard the Governor tell Congressman Jackson about it, that's why we were leaving." "And this whole area is being quarantined." The Guardsman added. "With orders to shoot anyone trying to leave." The group was stunned. Well
. How long do we have I asked the soldier. "We're setting up at dawn. At least that was the plan." Gwen looked at me. I had to do something. OK then, we'll leave before dawn in Abu's van and go to Gwen's folk's farm. Gwen explained there would be room enough for all and her folks would be glad of the help in this crisis. Priyanka took the girls up to her room to get cleaned up as the guys went up on the roof and watched as Stark shot bottle rockets down the street. The small Pops were loud enough to draw the Zeds away from the front door. They wandered down the street to find nothing. A few Zeds stood there looking for the source of the noise while the rest wandered off. Lucky for us, though unfortunately Abu only had about a dozen or so of the tiny fireworks left. We then loaded all our food and gear into the van. I asked the National Guardsman, whose name was Abe, why he was on the street. He told us he and the other soldier had been with a squad assigned to guard a gas station over on Madison that had a huge reserve tank full of gas. Some gangbangers took a shot at them and they were in pursuit of the punks when they found us. He asked if we could drop him off with his unit as we left and I readily agreed. He was damn handy in a fight and I would be sorry to see him go. We settled down for the night with Priyanka cooking a fantastic dinner. Afterwards, the girls went upstairs and Abu went to his room while Stark, Abe and I cleaned the weapons. Stark let Abe have the cot in the store room where he had been sleeping and then went up to the roof to keep watch. He'd be on duty until midnight when I would relieve him. The plan was for everyone to try and get as much sleep as we could before we left. I went and threw my sleeping bag on the couch in Abu's office and was just dosing off when I heard someone enter the dark room. Before I could say anything Gwen put a delicate finger on my lips and DELETED. Life is good.
At midnight I went up to the roof to relieve Stark. Standing in the darkness with the all too familiar sounds of helicopters, gunshots, screams and sirens all around, we brought each other up to speed on recent events. He told me Abu was alright and seemed genuinely happy that Priyanka and Stark were now a couple. I told him about the Limo and the gang bangers that tried to rob it. We agreed we needed to be wary of folks as law and order seemed to be collapsing around us and at least one gang had reason to hate us. I asked if he could keep watch for a few minutes more because I had an idea I wanted to run past him and I didn't want to scare the women with it. He asked what damn fool notion I had and I told him. I could tell he agreed and wanted to go with me, but also agreed that we couldn't leave the safety of everyone to Abu or a Nation guardsman we hardly knew. So quietly he let me out the side door and I slipped away into the night.
Stay Tuned for the Next Exciting Game – Thor goes Shopping!
The game was another rollicking good time. I was super thrilled when the second PEF turned out to be TN National Guardsmen. Finally I could use some of the US Soldiers I had painted up recently. The unexpected road block caused me some concern and the swarm that surrounded the 2 soldiers illustrate how quickly things can go bad. There were several rounds where the soldiers couldn't activate/move and they kept missing on full auto as well as drawing more and more Zeds to their location. Granted it gave Thor and the girls time to get away. Such is ATZ. The fight in the dark alley also had me concerned as I knew if we didn't get thru there fast, the Zeds following could catch us there. As it was, it turned out to be a race to the Circle K with a couple of turns of the survivors being in front of the store and not being able to move, while the Zeds kept trucking along. After what happened to the Guardsmen, this had me real worried. All in all, a fun game and a success as the goal was to get everyone there alive and unbit! While Thor didnt advance, Gwen and Ginger both got a bump up to Rep 4 and don't have to roll to stay in the group next game. Its the little things…
Thanks for looking.
checks out the Panthers for D-Day: Germans.
