Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

[OAMP]

(Was so tempted to just name this "Kick-ass", after the movie )

Beatrice Stinger woke up just like every other morning and was starting to go through her daily routine, though today was a bit different. She had the morning off for a 10:15 dentist appointment, so she could take it a bit easy.

When the monster broke the surface at a little past 9, Bea was in a subway station getting ready to go cross town, a bit early, but there might have been paperwork. All of a sudden, the lights flickered, massive shaking, and the trains went into safty mode. It must have been a quake! The passengers all ducked under the nearest cover, but when the shaking stopped and they came out, something was wrong.

After most quakes, there was generally an announcement over the PA with details, delays, and whatnot. Not this time. People stood around for a few minutes, some eventually opened the subway doors trapping a few people on the stuck trains, but for the most part just milling around. Then, something came down the stairs from the surface.

It looked human, sort of. It walked on all fours, legs bending where a human leg shouldn't. It stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking at the gathering crowd. "Stay back! Everyone!" A police officer was there, trying to get people to stay back. Then, in one quick motion, the thing leaped at the officer and started tearing him to pieces.

Bea got caught up in the crowd, everyone was running. Every subway had two stairwells per platform, but the monster at the other entrance funneled everyone this side of the tracks to just this one. Bea got rather roughed up getting to the surface. What she saw once there wasn't a pretty sight.

Something was towering above downtown, little monsters flying from its body. Chaos was everywhere, people fleeing, sirens, it was horrible. Bea didn't have time to think, getting pushed along with the crowd again. They were all running East, towards the loop and out of the city. Every one in awhile something would explode, or fall out of the sky and kill a few of the running people, but everyone just kept running.

After a few kilometers, Bea got shoved out of the crowd, tripped, and fell down some stairs to a basement apartment. She wasn't seriously injured, but when she got back to the top of the stairs, a concerned citizen, one who had kept his cool, insisted on looking at her head, there was a small lump forming from where she'd hit it. Nothing serious, but the citizen, who was clearly a medical professional of some sort, insisted she take it easy. "Let's take the back streets, going back out into the panic won't be good for you".

The doctor was right, the back streets were quiet and they made good time across the city. They were getting into the Southern slums, however, and humans became a bigger threat then monsters. Spying a passing helo, the doctor made Bea sit down while he tried to signal it. He climbed onto the building, going for the roof.

Unfortunately, this was the exact moment the nuke detonated. Because of the street layout, Bea was sheilded from the worst, but the doctor was blown off the roof, away from Bea. As Bea was about to react, something heavy hit her on the head, knocking her cold.

Bea woke up a few minutes later to a hellish landscape. The sky seemed to be on fire. While in a slum, it had atleast been somewhat clean, but now debris was everywhere. Even though the streets had been deserted, there was an occasional person before, now nothing but dead silence.

 

[Termite]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

For a moment the girl looked dead. Her face was planted against the ground, and her arms and legs were splayed in random directions. If someone ran up with some chalk and drew a rough outline of her she would be the body everyone was huddled around and randomly poking. Thankfully the loud groan coupled with the almost labored breath proved she was anything but a corpse, and after a bit of effort she managed to turn herself onto her back as her eyes began to flutter.

For a moment Bea didn't know what she was looking at. The ground was obviously under her, so that should be the sky. Why was it so red? Her head was still swimming, and the last thing she could remember was getting pushed out of the subway while everyone was rushing somewhere. She eventually sat up and clutched her still throbbing temples. There were odd little images and details floating around in her mind, but this migraine was keeping them from making any sense.

"Okay... Subway... Everyone was rushing out... They were scared... I was scared...why?" As she spoke to give herself some focus she managed to make it to her feet. Her legs felt unsteady thanks to this daze, but once she remembered her fear she felt she needed to get up and start moving. Even with the headache she was starting to regain her bearings. "Where...ghetto? How'd I get out here?" The scene of utter carnage surrounding her was finally acknowledged, and once it was the memory of the police officer finally made itself known.

"Shit!" Bea immediately dashed for the nearest bit of cover she could find before she started scanning the streets. The image of that man being torn apart by that...thing...was the trigger her memory needed. Somehow there were monsters running around the city, and the mother fucking granddaddy of them all was in downtown somewhere throwing little demon spawns all over the place. Bea did not want to get caught be one of them and torn limb from limb. That's why she was hiding right now. She wanted to make sure the coast was clear before she poked her head around and tried to find anything useful. She could only pray that one of those bastards wasn't anywhere nearby.


(Hide and make sure there aren't any baddies around before looking around for anything that looked like it could be useful, including people.)

 

[OAMP]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Bea had trouble finding cover. Most debris wasn't big enough to hide behind. Some of the doors didn't look to stable, if Bea wanted to break into a building, but would that be smart in this neighborhood? Fortunately, there did not seem to be any monsters around right now.

As she was moving, Bea stepped on a large wooden spinter. Though it was sharp enough to cut through any foot protection, Bea stepped on it just right to trip instead. After the fall, Bea noticed that this could make a makeshift knife, if she needed it to be. It was about the size of a sword, and the wood looked pretty good, but slashing was out, or it might spinter more. Stabbing would work, though.

 

[Termite]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Once again Bea found herself face down on the ground. At least this time she was conscious. It was a pain in the ass, though. After thinking a couple choice curses she turned to look at what tripped her and saw a large splinter of wood. If she hadn't been more careful it probably would have gone right through her foot. She picked it up to throw it across the street, but after getting it in her hand she began to reconsider. It was fairly light weight, it could pierce flesh, and it was about the right size. It may be fragile, but if she could manage to stab something instead of bash it she could probably use it a few times before it splintered completely.

With a weapon in hand no obvious threats to be seen Bea started searching. She could break into a house, but there's no telling what was waiting inside. As bad as the monsters were scared people with a shotgun trained on the door was even scarier. Then again having someone nearby would be REALLY comforting right about now. That's when she remembered the doctor. He had been on one of these roofs when she was knocked out. Maybe he needed help. She vaguely remembered seeing him thrown, so she started searching wherever she thought he may have landed.


(Take the stick and look for the doctor.)

 

[OAMP]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

If Bea remembered what happened correctly, the doctor fell on the OTHER side of the building. She walked down the street untill she found a place she could cut over. It took her a minute, but she found her way to the other side of the house the doctor had been climbing. Wasn't that hard to know which was which, the doctor was on the ground in the back yard, neck clearly broken.

 

[Termite]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Well, there he was. Bea just stood there for a couple seconds staring at the body lying in someone's backyard. There was no helping him now. This didn't seem right. He stopped to make sure she was okay, to lead her to a safer place, and all he got for his trouble was a broken neck? Fate is rather cruel.

Had this been any other time she probably would have broken down for a few minutes and cried to herself, but she didn't have time for that. The monsters and the fires were far more important than her emotions, and she wiped away the few tears rolling down her cheeks before she started moving again. She really didn't want to get caught by one of those abominations, and that led to her jumping the fences of the nearby homes and checking the doors. If one of them was unlocked she'd quietly enter. She could break them down easy enough, but she really didn't want something nearby noticing the loud noise.

 

[OAMP]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Bea only had to go three houses down before finding an open one. It was a small house, and it was clear no one was home. Infact, no one seemed to have been home for awhile. There was a small layer of dust on most objects, though everything was out in the open like it was intended to be used sometime soon. Perhaps the owners had just been gone for a week or so?

 

[Termite]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Finding an open home with undisturbed dust made her feel much better. It still didn't mean she was safe, but it was a good start. After entering she made sure to close and lock the door behind her before she started sneaking through the house. She'd start by checking the front door and making sure it was still closed before she locked it as well and moved to scout the rest of the house. Considering the neighborhood there may actually be a gun hidden somewhere. Bea may have never really used a gun, but having something other than a pointy stick sounded nice.

 

[OAMP]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Bea did find a gun, but not what she was expecting. In the bedroom there was a revolver, it looked pretty old, though not too old. It wasn't loaded, but Bea also found three ready made reloads. Most revolvers could be loaded one bullet at a time, but there were also things like this that you could just pop in.

From this, as several other things Bea saw, it almost seemed like this house belonged to someone who was once wealthy, but lost it all. That gave a spooky feeling to the house, almost as if the place had a spirit to it.

 

[Termite]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Spoiler

I'm guessing standard revolver type weapon with six chambers?

Okay. This is good. Kinda. Bea thought she remembered hearing that revolvers generally had more kick than pistols, but then again she never really paid too much attention to that. The thing was old and kinda dirty, though. She was kinda scared she'd fire the thing and watch it fall apart. Maybe she could find some towels or rags or something to clean it up without getting it wet. She distinctly remembered some movies showing that guns and water do not mix.

Whether she found something or not she left to raid the kitchen. So far she has been pushed and pulled by a crowd of people, thrown down a small flight of stairs, and knocked flat on her face by something big and heavy. Now that she was semi-safe her body was demanding a chance to rest and relax and maybe even recharge if she could keep the image of the shredded officer out of her mind. After finding something to snack on she would start looking for more utilitarian things, like knives and flashlights and batteries and maybe a can opener. It'd suck if she found a bunch of tinned foods and had nothing to open them. And of course she'd need something to carry all this junk with her. Can't forget to keep a pack. Oh! Don't forget the medicine cabinet! It never hurt to keep at least a little aspirin on hand, and a couple pills should help with this damned headache.

 

[OAMP]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

(Yep, 6 rounds)

Stealth Check

3+11+16 = 30 vs 2 = 8 8+20 PASS (lucky)

The search to clean the revolver lead to the kitchen. The sink was dripping, water was still running. With this, it was a simple matter to take a wash cloth, for several were hanging above the sink, and clean off the gun. It looked alot better now, not fragile at all.

While there, Bea did indeed only find canned foods, but there was a hand can opener. The owner also had some canvas bags under the sink. They'd be great for carrying small items.

One one subject, however, Bea was out of luck. No drugs in the drug cabinet. Infact, the bathroom was almost devoid of any object. Half a roll of toiletpaper was all Bea could find in that room.

As Bea was finishing her search, there was a loud thud. Something had landed on the roof. After a few seconds, there was a small tap tap tap of something walking on the roof. Fortunately, whatever it was did not know Bea was in the house, for now.

 

[Termite]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

With her gun clean and pretty and her sacks full of useful stuff Bea still let out a defeated sigh when she couldn't find any medication in the bathroom. Well at least there was some TP. She was in the middle of placing that on top before the loud thump made her freeze. She's heard that sound before, or at least something like it when her neighbors above her apartment decided they were going to clomp around just to piss her off. She hated those people, but she'd rather deal with them than whatever was slowly walking around above her head.

Thankfully it didn't sound like it was actively trying to find her, so she very calmly and very quietly put her new bags on the floor. She then opened her revolver and loaded the chambers as silently as possible while still listening to the tapping on the roof. Hopefully whatever was outside would just fly away to search elsewhere, but if it liked this house then she needed to be ready.

 

[OAMP]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Stealth Check

4+11+16 = 31 vs 25 = 5+20

After what seems like forever, there's another loud thunk. That must mean the beast has moved on.

(Heh, sorry that one's so short)

 

[Termite]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

(No problem.)

With the threat having finally moved on Bea allowed herself a sigh of relief. She was safe for now, but that close encounter begged a question. Would taking a catnap here really be worth the risk? The girl wasn't exactly a light sleeper, and when she was woken she tended to make a bit of noise. In these slum houses anything outside would immediately pick up on that, and she'd be cornered and turned into goulash. Nope, this house wouldn't do.

Regathering all her items while still keeping that revolver ready in case of another surprise Bea made her way to the front door and opened it enough to take a peak outside. If she found nothing too dangerous she'd leave with all her gear in tow and try to find something to make the trek easier. Nothing electrical seemed to be working at the moment, so motorized vehicles were out of the question. Maybe there was a bicycle she could find to make this a lot easier.

 

[OAMP]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Bea didn't see anything, so she slowly made her way out to the street. Nothing either way. She continued down the way she was going before the explosion, seeing as going back wouldn't make much sense.

A few blocks had passed when Bea heard something else. Someone sounded to be in alot of pain, and they were close by. The noise seemed to be comming from behind the house to her left, through the ally next to it.

 

[Termite]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

"Hm?" The sound of pained moans caught the woman's ears. Apparently someone over to her left was having an even worse day than she. Might as well stop and take a look.

Before Bea would round whatever corner was hiding the hurt person was groaning behind she put her bags down and made sure her weapons were ready. There's no telling what could be waiting in that alley, and she wanted to be ready in case she found a monster preparing to attack someone. She almost rushed forward to get as close to the house/fence to peak around the wall, but if there was something hostile she felt a little better having at least a few feet to react to a surprise attack.

 

[OAMP]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Bea found what appeared to be a resident of the slum hunched over on all fours in the allyway between house rows. The man looked like he was trying to barf, or just had. He didn't notice Bea looking at him, too intent on his own problem.

There was one more odd thing about the man. Bea could see, through a rip in the back of his shirt, that his back was turning a greenish color, and looked a bit hard, like scales on a reptile.

 

[Termite]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Egh, gross. She obviously wasn't going to get anywhere near the heaving man. Bea didn't want any upchuck anywhere near her. That said she couldn't just leave the guy sitting here with monsters running around all over the place, but the sight of his back was raising a few inner voices that told her to just get the hell out of there and not look back. She almost did, but another voice piped up reminding her of the doctor's kindness and how she would probably be in far more trouble if she had stuck with the crowd. This inner conflict waged for a little bit before one voice finally managed to gain control.

"Hey, you okay?" As soon as she said those words a part of her started screaming for cover, but she forced it down while waiting for the man's reply.

 

[OAMP]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

The man's reply was a loud moan, not fully of pain, but of a hunter having found prey.

Combat Order Roll

Bea 4+32 = 46
Infected 4+20 = 24

Bea goes first.

 

[Termite]

Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

There was something very odd about this guy, and he had a hungry look in his eye once he knew she was there. Note to self: When in an apocalypse do not talk to strange looking people. With the threatening disposition on display Bea automatically brought her gun up. If this vaguely human thing so much as looked like it was gonna try and eat her she was going to shoot the hell out of it.

(Attack that mofo.)