Finally! Encounter 3, Day 2 After Action Report! Life is filled with distractions...
If you recall in my last two posts we began a campaign. Read the story
here and
here.
Today I present the final encounter of the day...
"Damn! I hurt," Doc was saying as Paul turned onto Sean's street.
"Ya think?! You got shot, ya know." Paul glanced at Doc, giving him that 'you're-a-dumbass' look over his glasses. The two had been friends a long time so this kind of exchange was familiar to Marie.
"You show such excellent compassion, Paul," Marie said, dripping with sarcasm.
"What?! It's not like I shot him," Paul replied. "Besides, if he's gonna be a backstop for bullets he better expect some hassle from his friends."
Doc slowly shook his head with mock exasperation. "Idiot," was all he said. No one was quite clear whether he was talking about himself or Paul.
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| The neighborhood is quiet as the party enters from the top of the pic. |
"All right you two," Marie said. "Enough games. There's Sean's house. Let's be careful. There's no telling what might happen when we get out of this truck.
As they pulled up to the driveway, they saw a lone zombie standing near a row of bushes that separated Sean's property from the neighbor's. Marie let out a 'huff' of exasperation as it spotted the truck and began moving toward them. Her face looked determined as she gripped her baseball bat.
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| A lone shambler lurks near some bushes. |
"I got this," Paul said. Before anyone could say anything he stopped the truck, threw it in park and opened his door. He stepped out into the driveway, drawing his pistol.
"Paul! What the...," Doc started to say but Paul was already raising the pistol in a double grip and drawing a bead on the zombie's head. The report was deafening in the stillness of the evening. In combat style, just like he'd seen on the Military Channel, Paul fired his .45 twice.
"Dammit!," Paul exclaimed as his shots went wide. The zombie groaned and increased its pace as it began moving around the bushes and reached for Paul.
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| Paul takes aim while Doc and Marie rush the house. |
"The kids, Paul! Remember? The kids are why we're here!" Marie threw her door open on the passenger side of the truck and ran straight to the front door of the house. By now, desperate to find her children, she didn't have time to waste killing a zombie. When she reached the front door she discovered it was locked. 'This could be good,' she thought, realizing they might still be in the house if they've locked themselves in. Without another thought she brought her foot up and kicked hard just to the side of the doorknob. Much to everyone's surprise the door gave way with a crash of splintered wood. The door was flung back so forcefully the hinges gave way and the whole door fell to the floor in the foyer!
'Huh!' Marie thought. 'I guess I'm stronger than I seem...'
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Marie smashes the door! Nothing like a motivated mama to get a job done.
(My wife rolled snake eyes for her challenge test. Even at -1 REP she smashed the door.) |
"Hey! Wait..." Doc also jumped out of the truck, unclear whether to help Paul or chase Marie. He decided to stay with the mission. 'Get the kids,' he thought, 'then we can deal with zombies.'
As Doc and Marie rushed the house, Paul was being a distraction for the zeds. His shots had stirred up another shambler who approached from behind the one he'd missed. He steadied himself and stood his ground as the first zed came around the end of the bushes, rushing him. Paul took two more shots and this time with deadly accuracy he blew a hole right through its face, the back of its head erupting in a red spray. The thing fell at his feet and didn't move again.
Meanwhile, inside the house, Reddy and Quinn, the kids, heard Paul's first shots and the sound of the splintering door. They were hiding upstairs, just as Sean had told them to. He had said he'd be back as soon as he could but that had been this morning, long hours ago. He needed to run to the store and get supplies he'd said. The kids were worried and now it seemed like something really bad was happening.
"REDDY! Stay here!" Quinn whispered as Reddy started to crawl out from under the bed. He had a hockey stick he'd found in the garage.
"NO! You stay here. I'm going to see what's happening," he told his sister quietly. He shook her hand off his foot where she'd grabbed him. He thought if he could get to the bedroom across the hall he could look out the front windows. He crawled out from under the bed and crept to the bedroom door. He was opening it slowly and had started to check the hall when he heard two more shots. With a squeak like a startled mouse, he jumped and ran out of the bedroom, across the hall and into the other room. He dived to the floor under the front window but dared not peek out.
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| Paul kills one zed while another is drawn by the commotion. |
As Marie and Doc entered the house, Paul decided maybe keeping things a little more quiet was a good idea. He drew the machete he had on his belt and put his pistol away. 'Probably smart to save ammo anyway,' he thought to himself as he mustered his courage to charge the remaining zed.
Marie went into the house, pistol drawn. "Sean? Quinn? Reddy?" she called in a stage whisper. The house was quiet, but she thought she'd heard the sound of running feet upstairs. She was tense, every nerve firing, alert like a cat ready to pounce. She heard Doc's boots scrape the hardwood floor in the foyer as she approached the bottom of the steps. She was grateful he was with her. Pistol held down in a two-fisted grip she began to climb the stairs.
Paul meanwhile walked quickly up to the approaching zombie, machete held in his right hand out to the side, ready to swing. The thing's eyes were vacant, staring. There was no malice, no anger in them. Only a kind of sadness, Paul thought. And hunger.
He stepped forward and brought the machete around with practiced ease. He'd been a fencer in college and the basics of the saber cut were ingrained in muscle memory. The zombie seemed startled as its head tipped from it's shoulders and fell to the ground. The body stood for a moment and then folded up, collapsing onto itself in a heap.
"Blech!" Paul muttered. "This is grosser than I thought it'd be."
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| The kids are hiding upstairs. |
Quinn could hear people in the house now. She thought she heard voices but she couldn't hear what they were saying. Someone was definitely coming up the stairs. She could hear the boards creaking. She pushed her body as far back against the wall under the bed as she could. She didn't know what else to do.
Across the hall Reddy summoned his courage and peaked out the window. He couldn't see anyone from this angle but it looked like Doc's truck was parked in the driveway. 'That's weird,' he thought. 'What's Paul's friend doing here?' Just then he heard a voice whispering in the hall and ducked down between the bed and the wall beneath the window.
"I don't think Sean is hear," Marie whispered to Doc as they reached the top of the stairs.
"I didn't see his car when we came in," Doc agreed.
"Oh, God! What if he took the kids somewhere?" Marie was on the verge of tears. The tension and her frustration were palpable.
They could hear the sound of Paul's footsteps as he entered the house.
"Hey!" Paul called. "Anyone home?" His voice sounded like a shout in the stillness.
"Paul?" Quinn said, her quiet voice drifting out from under the bed.
"Quinn?" Marie called.
"Mom?" Reddy said as he stood up from behind the bed.
"Mom!" Quinn exclaimed as she scooted out from under her bed.
Marie, standing in the doorway of Quinn's room, dropped to her knees and opened her arms wide, tears starting from her eyes. Reddy burst through the door across the hall and rushed to his mom, wrapping himself around her and his sister as the three embraced.
"We're up here," Doc called down the stairs to Paul. "We found them! They seem to be okay."
Paul came bounding up the steps, taking them in twos. He went to his family and bent down to put his arms around the three of them.
Doc stood awkwardly by. He sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Dumb allergies," he said to no one in particular. Paul, Marie and the kids just smiled through their tears.
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| A family reunited! |
After a few minutes, Doc put his hand on Paul's shoulder. "Ok, buddy, we need to get going if we're headed back to the store tonight. It's getting dark."
"Yeah, you're right," Marie said. She addressed the kids, "You guys get your stuff together. We're going to grandpa's store to stay."
"What about daddy?" Quinn asked. Worry clouded the children's faces.
Marie swallowed hard, looking her daughter in the eye. "I don't know, honey. I don't know."
So, that was it. A good encounter. We diced for the trip back to the store and the party made it safely. They picked up 3 food units in Sean's house. No one got a REP increase but at least everyone is safe. We haven't played any more games since these but I'm planning to get in a game night soon. We have lots of options for scenarios and missions. We'll see where it goes from here.
Until then, Peace.
