Day 2d: Out of Gas

So today being Thanksgiving and I'm several hundred miles from home, when the wife told me to do something fun today, the ONLY thing that came to mind was a zed game.  Of course, I'd been planning that for a while anyway.  Now that the game's over and posted, I can go to mess hall to enjoy my turkey dinner with all the trimmings.  Apparently they go over the top for holiday meals at the DFAC.  My instructor, a retired sergeant first class, brings her family in for Thanksgiving dinner every year, spending the time with her family instead of spending it cooking.  So anyway, here's the game and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there in zed land!

*          *          *

"Darn it!  We're almost out of gas and it's getting dark.  I guess we should have stopped at the crossroads to tank up but I just wanted to get out of there . . ."  Angel hit the steering wheel with her fist.  "We could have spend the night at the motel there, too."



"It's alright," Ahmed assured her, "we'll find something soon."

They drove on for a bit in silence.

"Hey, there's a farm up there.  Sometimes they have their own gas tanks," Ahmed pointed out. 

"OK, let's see if the farmer will let us have some,"  Angel replied, pulling off the road into the farmyard.

As they got out of the car, Bob called from the Land Rover, "Hey, what's up?"

"Out of gas!" Ahmed called back.  "We're going to see if this farmer can spare any."

Bob and Joe got out of the Land Rover to stretch their legs while Angel and Ahmed walked up to the house.  There was no answer at the door, so they walked around to the back, knocking at all the doors they found.  Nothing, but they did hear noises like someone was walking around inside.

"We can't get much farther on the gas we've got. Take a look through the window - I'll knock on the door again," Ahmed told Angel.

Peeking through the window, Angel staggered and almost fell down, stepping back off the porch.



Ahmed started towards her, concerned.  Hearing the commotion, Joe called "What's going on?"

Angel, the fear registering on her face pointed to the house, "Those things are in there?"

The others stopped in surprise.  "How many?"  Bob asked after a second.

"I . . . I only saw one," Angel told him. 

Ahmed thought for a second.  "Well, the doors are all secured, so it's either the farmer and his family inside, or a couple of the things got in there and the family left."  He peered through the window, cupping his hands around his face to get a better view inside.  "Either way it's good for us.  We can take care of the things and spend the night in relative security."

The others considered this and decided it was a good plan, especially since they had already noticed the fuel tank at the back of the yard.

"All right," Bob said.  "Let's look in the windows and try to get a feel for how many of the things are in there and the layout of the house.  That will make it a lot easier." 

*          *          *

After scouting around the house, the met back up on the porch.  They determined they could only see one zed inside, and they had a pretty good feel for the layout of the ground floor, noticing that there were a cuople of closed doors, and knowing there was a second floor and a cellar. 

"Ahmed and Angel, you stand guard out here."  Bob looked at Joe.  Ready?" Bob asked.  He nodded.  "Let's do it!"

Turn 1: The group automatically activates since the zombies can't do anything. 

As they went through the door, Bob went straight to the living room where the one zed they had seen and was still milling around.  Joe went in right behind him and stopped to watch the stairs and the hall to what appeared to be the kitchen.  Angel and Ahmed moved to opposite corners of the house to watch the yard. 



Bob's first shot hits the zombie, but only knocks him back and down. 

Shortly after that another zed appears at the top of the stairs, and starts down towards Joe.  He passes his In Sight test with 2d6 and fires one barrel of his shotgun.  He hits and gets an obviously dead against what was apparently the farmer's daughter. 

Since the sound is contained within the house, I've modified the zombie appearance roll and none show up outside the house this turn.

Turn 2: The zeds activate with a 1, while the group is inactive with a 6.  Bob's zed gets up and charges, while another zombie charges from the kitchen towards Joe. 

Bob passes his Being Charged check with 2d6 and fires, again only knocking the zed down and back. Joe passes his In Sight check with 1d6 and fires the other barrel, getting one hit, but only knocks her back and down. 



Still no new zeds appear.

Turn 3: Zeds activate first with a 2 over the team's 1.

The zeds both get up and charge.  Bob passes his Being Charged check and fires, getting two hits and an Obviously Dead, finally finishing his zombie off.  Joe also passes his Being Charged check, drops his empty shotgun and grabs a baseball bat that was sitting in a corner by the door.  And disaster strikes!  The zed passes its 1d6 Melee roll, while Joe passes none.  The zed gets an Obviously Dead result and will spend the next turn feasting on him. 



Angel and Ahmed hear Joe screaming and run to the door to see what's going on.  Angel passes 1d6 on the See Zombie Death check.  She ducks back out of the door and fails her Sanity test, putting her Out of the Fight until she can be checked on.  Ahmed fails his See Zombie Death check, running away.  But he then passes one on his Sanity check.  He will recover at the end of the game.

No zeds are attracted to the gunfire.

Turn 4: The team activates since the one remaining zed is otherwise occupied.  Bob turns around to help Joe and also fails his See Zombie Death check and runs away.  However, he passes 2d6 on the Sanity table and will recover next activation.



Still no zeds appear.

Turn 5: The team (or what's left of it) activates first with a 5 versus the zeds 4.  Bob has a big decision to make here.  He can either get to Ahmed and try to rally him, or he can run back into the house and try to kill the zed.  He doesn't know what's become of Angel, so he decides to head back into the house.  He fires at the zed's back and gets two hits, both of which result in Obviously Dead.

His shooting attracts one zed, as yet unknown to him. 

Turn 6: The team activates first with a 5 over the zed's 1.  Bob heads out the front door, looking for Angel.  He finds her huddled on the porch, terrified, but also spots the zed shambling across the road.  He passes his In Sight check and fires, getting two hits and an Obviously Dead. 

Bob does a quick check of the farm house to make sure it's safe, then pulls Angel through the house and into the mud room, shutting and locking the outside door and closing the inside door so she wouldn't see the mess that used to be Joe.  Ahmed fails his Rally roll but lets Bob lead him into the house also.  Checking on Angel again, she's pretty much done for.  She eventually declines totally into insanity and will have to be watched 24/7. 

Finally, the ordeal is over!

Wow!  That sucked!  The team survived several games, fighting off several times their number of zeds without a scratch only to lose one team member munched, one insane and one pretty much useless fighting three zeds!  Only Bob is functional, but he won't desert his friends.  This has taken a pretty interesting - and devastating - turn.  Certainly screws up my vision of what the team's going to do next.