The Right Track (Kathy)

[OAMP]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

Nothing was out of place early on in Tab's trek to the holdout. Perhaps the survivors had used an element of stealth, letting the monsters wreck the station while they hid out in this section. However that clearly hadn't worked forever. The office hallway ended with a formerly barricaded door, the planks of wood that had once been nailed across the doorway were now splintered on the floor. One dead body was right on the other side, Tab could see a few more around the room and smell even more then that, though these bodies looked slightly fresher then the other ones. No sign of monster activity, so an ambush would be doubtful. Some equipment could even be seen as Tab approached, pistols and ammo were scattered all over, a closer inspection might yield more usable items.

 

[Kathy]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

Tab grunted softly to herself, shaking her head slowly at the mess that was up here. The thought of an ambush crossed her mind briefly, but she disregarded it almost instantly, these creatures were far too stupid to pull off something like that, unless more intelligent ones were lying in wait somewhere she hadn't found yet.

"hello?" Tab quietly whispered as she approached. As much as she hated calling attention to herself in this manner, she decided it would be better to alert her idiotic attackers and get them to come to her, than to corner herself in searching and be set upon unexpectedly. A 'surprise attack' due to the beasts only realizing she was there once her back was exposed to them would not be a smart thing to get herself caught up in.

Tab continued forward little by little, stealthily at first until she reached any kind of safer intersection and someplace she could duck behind to maintain cover and keep her upper hand if enemies did appear, before quietly calling out again, "hello? ... fresh human here... Come and get it, if you wanna get shot up..." her voice quiet enough that nothing from other levels would hear where she was at, but anything nearby would be able to tell she was nearby, though hopefully she remained hidden enough that she would see them long before they spotted her.

Continuing this process, Tab moved to where the holdout had taken place at, and failed, slowly. It was a long process, but the best way to stay safe against angry, attacking wild animals, which was one of the only things she could compare these things to, given her field of expertise, was to use your brains to outwit them.

If nothing else came up or disturbed her, Tab would make a special point to check a couple of the 'more intact' bodies, just in case any of them were somehow about to turn into these beasts, like that man from the car, before if still safe, she would finally begin to collect weapons and ammunition, finding someplace secure to start stockpiling excess guns in hopes to create a secondary collection point for anyone coming across the police station, while further stockpiling and increasing her ammunition stores.

(Note, if too much ammo, she may consider leaving some behind with the guns. But as yet, that hasn't been a concern.)

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

Nothing responded to Tab's probing voice, though something might have been shuffling behind one of the doors, though the noise was very faint and stopped when Tab called out near it, never to resume.

One of the closer bodies had an interesting gash on its left arm, it was festering and a bit green. Worthy of a closer inspection, but first something else caught Tab's eye. The man's hand was holding a military grade radio tight. A real gem in the middle of the standard pile of ammo and guns she'd found.

 

[Kathy]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

Tab noticed the shuffling nearby and her eyes narrowed. Though guns and ammo were plentiful, and that radio was the first one to actually be worth a damn, it would have to wait.. she had to secure the area first.

Quickly stalking up to the door, Tab checked what kind of door it was, if there were any windows or holes in the wall she could see into the room from, or if the door was ajar in any way. She wanted to see what she would potentially be up against before she did anything rash like actually head inside that room.

(Also: Which way does the door open? If it opens in, Tab is likely to shimmy the handle, then hurl something to knock the door open from a distance.

If it opens out, Tab is going to do the same, but use a length of string to pull the door open while hiding behind a nearby desk for cover.)

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

The door was the type that swung in, so Tab was able blitz the lone occupant of the room to full effect with her breaching tactic. She found one infected woman, though something wasn't quite right. She did not attack, but instead just looked on in a stupified manner. For whatever reason, this one had not yet become agressive.

 

[Kathy]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

Tab quietly leveled her guns just below the woman, not wanting to appear too hostile, but not ready to let her guard down yet either as she began to try to talk with the woman, "Hey. Tell me what's going on here. Are you okay? I can tell.. you're... infected... with whatever this is... tell me everything you can while you still can."

Tab's eyes were darting around the room as she spoke, making sure that she wasn't going to be ambushed from the side while she dealt with the woman, though just for good measure, she added grimly, "And do it from there... I'd rather not be attacked again, nor have to defend myself..."

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

The monster was at Tab's mercy. There were no other exits to the room, save a small coat room, the door was open and there was clearly nothing hiding in there. The infected woman just gave Tab a strange stare, jawing wilding, sometimes noises coming out, sometimes not. Her eyes glowed a faint greenish, like cats' eyes in the night. They held a certain sadness to them as well, as if there was still something slightly human behind them,

The woman did not move to attack, those she did keep raising her arms, but in more of a flailing movement then with any harmful intent. Tab could see a long cut on her arm through a torn section of the woman's shirt, it was oozing green slightly.

 

[Kathy]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

Tab sighed softly at the sight of the woman, lowering her gun slowly at first, then holstering it while she drew her backpack off far enough to gather some first aid materials, pointing at the small kit that she'd gotten with it's big red cross to try to show the woman her intent, "I clearly can't understand you, but maybe you understand me." she said softly, "If you're going to stay nice, then you're probably not as far gone as the others... let me see your injury and I'll bandage it up, okay?" To confirm this physically, Tab took a few bandages out of the kit and pointed to her own arm where the injury on the woman was, then over to the woman, gesturing in a way that, even if verbal communication was beyond the two's ability anymore, if she retained any of her human knowledge, she'd understand what Tab meant.

If the woman allowed it, Tab would approach slowly and begin to administer first aid to her, looking through her bag for any kind of antibiotics or other means of stopping infections, anything she could think of that could potentially at least hinder whatever strange transformation was taking place... though somehow she knew quite clearly, that it was a futile effort, and any small drugs given here would be about as effective as putting a band aid over a bullet wound.

Throughout the procedure, Tab maintained a vigilant eye over the area, ensuring the two would be alone in the room and having closed the doorway just enough that it ensured a small degree of privacy, against any of the beasts that had turned fully. She also kept a careful eye on her patient, concerned that the change could go to it's next step at any moment, but not willing to simply leave the woman injured if she could help it.


(Actions: Attempt to treat the woman's injury. Give the woman what medications Tab deems may have some use. Examine the woman while treating her. Keep room secure.)

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

As Tab got closer the woman tried to back away, almost acting afraid of the scientist. However, in her uncoordinated state, she only managed to fall over backwards after tripping over thick binder of forms on the floor. If the situation wasn't serious it might have been a comical sight.

Tab identified several things in the first aid kit that could help. Could being the key word. The best bets were two different kinds of anti-microbial pastes designed to prevent infections. The woman did not resist as Tab treated her wound, but after a few seconds she yanked back violently, hissing and flailing wildly, though not threatening Tab directly. If anything, the reaction somewhat resembled a child throwing a temper tantrum.

 

[Kathy]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

Tab smiled softly, taking a bit of excess bandage and wrapping it around her own arm after bandaging the woman to try to show a likeness between them, tying off her short length and holding it up to compare to the woman with a soft smile. "There now. Isn't that better? How about something to eat maybe?"

Tab slipped into her pack quickly and withdrew whatever small amount of tasty looking prepackaged food she could, handing one over carefully to the woman and taking one for herself as she sat down on the floor, showing that she would be no threat to the woman as long as things were... well, at least non hostile.

With the woman treated, she began to lack other options. Treating these infected individuals like she would wild animals, the more social and less hostile ones, she gave leeway and tried to get along with, while those who had clearly perilous intents for her, she wouldn't hesitate to put down.

Tab took a moment to consider what brought her up here, wondering how many of the infected weren't hostile, and how many were... so far, this was the first one to not rush after her violently on sight. She considered trying to study it more, but for now, was taking a passive approach, trying to figure out what else it would do and how it acted in general. This kind of scientific investigation trumped any foolish plans the military had hidden away somewhere in the building... at least for now.

"hmm... do you understand me at all?... nod if you do... it'd be nice to know if we have any level of communication..." she said softly while watching the woman and seeing what else would come of their sharing of food (assuming the woman takes any).

(Tab does nothing more to the woman but to offer food. Then sits down and begins to eat on her own. Still watching the door (and any other entrances) defensively, but most of her attention on the woman.)

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

With the treatment over, the woman's appearance changed slightly. She was more flushed, more human looking. The greenish tint about her was ever so slightly diminished. She calmed down after awhile, it seemed that the cream stung a bit, if anything, she raised her hand to her arm to rub where the infected area was, a lone tear rolling down her cheek.

The woman was interested in the food Tab offered, though hesitant to take it at first. Once she had some she nibbled on it a bit, as if eating like this was a strange experience. She watched intently as Tab tried to communicated. She clearly understood what talking was, that communication was being attempted, though didn't seem to quite understand what was being said. A few strange moaning noises came out of her mouth in reply, but the woman seemed a bit unsure as to what she was doing. While she was doing this one of her hands idlely guestured about, as if she was one of those people that tended to talk more with their hands then words and was now thinking rather hard. The desired nod did not come, but the infected clearly knew that Tab wanted to communicate.

 

[Kathy]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

Tab pondered for a moment, before pulling out her sheets of paper, writing in fairly large lettering so it would be hard to misunderstand if the woman understood the writing, "Stay Calm." She began with a smile, "Nod if you understand this." she added, trying the same approach over again. The woman's vision and mind seemed fairly intact in some ways, though her ability to understand words and verbal communication were clearly hindered. Tab quietly hoped that this alternate form of communication could've been more effective as she tried a note at first... followed by a little drawing of a stick figure nodding up and down, checking just how simplistic of communication she would need to get to before the two could have a common ground.

Ultimately, the mere fact the woman seemed to still understand and try to communicate, while these differences were there, seemed to encourage Tab that perhaps the others weren't without hope, but simply turned into wild animals by this change. If that were the case, it might have even been possible to send in teams after this was finished and herd the infected together to attempt to hold them until a cure could be found.

She felt a brief moment's regret about the dead one, but it passed without concern, Tab musing that such a strange and large beast was likely not an infected human, but rather one of the beasts trying to be more human. Or even if it were a human, it's obscenely mutated state would render any possible cure for the others to be quite likely ineffective on it.


Tab's attention returned to the moment and she finished a few more idle attempts at communication, making some gestures, such as pointing, handshakes, and other casual attempts to communicate (if writing failed, that is), before she'd be nearly ready to pack it up and continue her efforts, using whatever method was most successful, to encourage the woman to follow her as she, once again, left the room and continued to search the nearby area, hoping to find that elusive final hideout, and any instructions left with, or by, the group that had taken their last stand up here... if not perhaps even find the group themselves.

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

The woman was fascinated by the paper. She followed along with her finger as she read it, mouthing the words silently in an astounding display of remaining intelligence. She stumbled on the word "nod", for some reason, but after a few seconds found the picture, then after a few more slowly began to mimic the expression. She tried to talk once more, but only incoherent moans came out, rendering the woman slightly confused as she looked around dazed at her own utterances.

 

[Kathy]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

Tab smiled proudly at the idea such a thing could be working, and tore into her pack again, producing one of her pre-made belts for giving to others, handing it to the woman and showing her the variety of tools on it, including her own paper and pencil, hoping that it could help ease communication. Though for the moment, she avoided anything as complicated as the taser and gun, both for the safety of the woman and for the fact the gun was unloaded. But arming the woman seemed, at least for the moment, to be a fairly good idea. And if the drugs would have any positive effects, then perhaps some of these things would prove useful in the long run for the girl.

Tab demonstrated putting the belt on and encouraged the woman to do the same before finally giving the gestures and quick note indicating she wanted the other woman to follow her, reaching out to hold the woman's hand if she wanted, before, once again, continuing her search.

(Actions: Give woman a belt-pack of gear. Get woman to follow. Continue search.)

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

Most of the tools puzzled the woman. She slowly turned them over in her hands, trying to figure out what to do with them. She did, however, understand how to write, but in her current state was a little too sloppy to write anything clearly. She stopped Tab to scribble on one paper for a moment then passed it over with an expression of slight happyness, though her face didn't really convey much besides emptyness in this condition. Only one word could be made out, "friend".

The woman tried to put on the toolkit, but needed a bit of help. It seemed the early stage of infection was where the host was reduced to a child like level of intelligence. Tab got the distinct feeling that the woman was "proud", for lack of a better word, that she was able to be doing all of this, even with the high level of help she was receiving.

When it was time to move out, the woman gladly took Tab's hand as she almost managed a smile. Her grip was quite strong, part of it was probably strength from before the infection, but it felt as if it was causing her to be a bit stiff as well, like lockjaw or arthritis.

 

[Kathy]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

(Tab continues to attempt to continue her search for a third attempt.)

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

There was not much more information in this office that Tab had not already found out from the other one. However one object stood out. In a corner was a battered and bloody diary or log book, it was hard to tell which it was. The front cover was open, clearly displaying the name of the police chief. It would take time to sort information out of it because of its poor condition, but the insight gained might be vital. In addition to this, there was of course the guns, ammo, and radio Tab had spotted earlier before finding the woman. Up close it looked light there might be a little damage to the radio unit from being smacked against something hard, but probably just cosmetic, or at the very most something someone with Tab's background could easily fix with basic electronic knowledge.

 

[Kathy]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

Tab smiled as she moved about. She was a bit disappointed at the lack of anything that seemed to be a final holdout, considering that everything indicated this was where it would be, but she was more than content to begin collecting ammunition, going so far as to show her ally what she was trying to do, collecting clips and lining them up along a desk to hope her companion would follow suit, while the guns, she checked a little more privately, emptying any that had ammunition in them with caution not to let the woman see, for fear she may accidentally shoot something if she began to play with the weapons, or even just carrying them around too much.

The radio was important, but not vital enough it would get her to do anything but move it at first, setting it someplace safe. Once it, the log, and all of the ammunition was gathered (with the guns safely set aside behind another desk, unloaded), Tab looked for something else to try to get her companion to do, something so she would stay occupied and not become bored or irritated (note, skip this if the woman finds something else to do already instead of helping collect, Tab is mostly just concerned about keeping the woman safe and not wandering off).

After everything was finally sorted, Tab took stock of the ammunition gathered and began to work on the radio, verifying that nothing was damaged and attempting to get it running, knowing she had a ready supply of spare parts from the damaged/non-working radio she had on her belt. If she could get it to start working, she'd turn it on quietly and listen for any radio chatter going on nearby, flipping through what she could until something noteworthy came into range, occasionally speaking into the radio in a soft whisper, "This is a member of the science team. I'm holed up in a secure location, seeking anyone active inside the city. Please respond... ..." whenever she failed to get a reply for more than a moment, she'd quietly add, "Changing frequencies... if anyone heard this and couldn't reply, I'm going to be cycling up frequencies for a while trying to contact someone... I will be checking back on..." Tab chose whatever frequency the radio was originally set on for the return contact information, "So please tune your radios to that frequency and reply as soon as possible..."

Every few frequencies she managed to check, she'd return again to the one she'd declared as default, and make sure no one was trying to contact her back... If uninterrupted, Tab would continue this for a short while, no more than a dozen frequencies, trying specifically any noted frequencies written down on the radio, or that seemed to have a special etch in the tuning dial, before she would give it a rest. (note: Barring something actually replying, in which case she stops immediately to deal with it.)

(Collect ammo and stuff, get woman to help, then work on fixing radio/try it out.)

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

The woman seemed happy to follow Tab's orders and help her organize the finds. She could tell it made the scientist happy, giving her a visible sense of pride. Catagorizing more of the same was kind of boring, but with the woman's reduced mental capacity, she was almost behaving as if it were a game.

(There is not any new types of weapons, but suffice to say, you now have a crap load of ammo, the most you can have without finding some backpacks or something to carry more)

The radio's case was pretty beat up. One panel was gone revealing some wiring. It was intact, but only just. It was an easy matter to reinforce it to working condition, though with continued use replacing some of the wires and connectors all together might be a good idea, but the radio still had a bit of life in it before that was needed.

The airwaves were filled with static, but not normal static. A strange screeching sound could be heard from time to time, kind of like a wierd mechanical whale song. It was easy for one's mind to imagine voices in it, but Tab did not get any solid contact for quite some time. However, just about at the time when the infected woman was getting tired, needing further instructions from Tab lest she wander off, a deep voice came over the radio. "Hey! Where are you lady? We're also in a... secured location. You got many people with you?" It was clear whoever was transmitting was not all that bright, they sounded alot like the sterotypical gang member as depected on TV. While disrespectful to some, the tone of voice suggest that the man just didn't know any better.

 

[Kathy]

Re: The Right Track (Kathy)

Tab reinforced enough of the bad wiring before starting that she would be assured of not losing the connection if she did catch anyone. With everything sorted out, Tab motioned her new friend over and helped stock some ammunition in her belt. Just a few clips for that "emergency" situation, or if the woman showed signs of improvement. The rest of the ammunition and guns, she stocked herself up on and prepared to leave.

(Actions: Slip around 6 clips in the woman's belt, along with two pistols (still unloaded, just in case), while maxing out her own ammo, while not 'overloading' to the point it would hinder her movement still. Worst case, she can still come back here for more later.)

When the response on the radio finally came towards the end of her work up here, Tab could only smile wider than before. "I've entered the police station at ... (give road location)... to try to find a secure line to the outside world. It's been overrun by the strange monsters and infected, but we've managed to lock down a small area inside, recommend you do NOT come here unless you're WELL armed." Tab hesitated for a moment before continuing.

Also... This is important. I have an infected here who hasn't turned hostile and has shown a desire to assist me, it seems to be an incomplete or halted version of whatever is changing most of the people... so if we meet up, please do not be alarmed or attempt to harm me or my companion." she added that part very clearly, to make sure there would be no confusion later on, even repeating, "I repeat... I have a partially infected individual with me. Non-Hostile. Do NOT attack us if we meet you... This is important, having an infected we can take samples from may be the first step in ending this conflict and possibly curing everyone else."

Having repeated herself to make sure the woman would go unharmed, Tab sighed softly before adding, "Please tell me your location. This area remains dangerous to enter, and we're about to get the hell out of here... But I have secured a small amount of weaponry from the station. There wasn't much left after what went down here, but I can try to track down a bit more if you tell me how many people you have there and what kind of combat training they have. Do any of you have experience with guns? And what kind of experience, I may have found a few special guns if you can be specific. Just be blunt with me and I'll bring the best I can find for your situation."

Tab remembered the rifle from down below, though having deemed it useless for herself, she quietly thought that if anyone in the other group was a hunter, they might've had use for it. The question was also loaded in a subtle way, allowing her to ascertain the size of their group and the kind of people she'd expect to be running into without outright asking something that might put the group on-guard.

While Tab talked with the other group, she occasionally made some gestures to the woman, holding her hand or giving her hand a playful squeeze, even hugging the woman to show that she was proud of how good she'd done to collect everything, as she showed they were getting ready to start walking again, hesitating only enough that she hoped she could finish her radio conversation before heading out.

(Actions: Try to get info from the person on the radio about their group. Specifics being attempted to uncover: Location, Number of People, Combat Training of people, jobs/type of people (gangsters/ex-military/civilians/etc). )

Not wanting to delay for too much longer, Tab turned the radio's volume down slightly as she began to travel with her companion, gun at the ready, she started down the still secured hallways, with the intent of returning to the evidence lockup where she'd created those kits earlier, intending to grab an extra couple (complete with spare guns) if the group was large enough to warrant it, and perhaps pick up the rifle while she was there.