"My thoughts exactly," you tell Fran, forcing the paranoid thoughts away.
"Right, follow me!" she calls, leading the way back down the alley. You go just after, with Cynthia close by. Chief falls in next, and Vlad brings up the rear. The group enters the corridor single file at a brisk pace, all too aware of the death-bringers wheeling lazily above.
You, Fran, and Cynthia manage to jog by the corpse of the unlucky creature from earlier, knowing it'd be there. Chief, however, wasn't mindful of its presence. This, coupled with his focus on the creatures overhead and their fast pace, caused him to trip and stumble on it. You look over your shoulder to see him hit the ground. Before you can stop to go back to help, you see Vlad grab him by the back of his shirt and haul him to his feet.
"Be careful, ya old geezer," he scolds gruffly. Chief only nods and presses forward, catching up to Fran. The two have a brief, muttered conversation, and Fran gives him something.
The group weaves through the streets and back alleys without any real incident. As you cross the openness of the first street, a single one decided to try and dive bomb the group, only to be met with a blast of Fran's shotgun. The rest hadn't tried anything since.
"I think they're dropping lower," Cynthia noted at one point. You had taken a look, but weren't sure. Now, however, you're positive. They had indeed begun to circle lower. As Fran comes to the mouth of the last of the sheltering alleyways, she stops.
"The Civic Center's right across the street. It'd be basically an open charge across it and the parking lot to the side door. That's a solid hundred yards.... If they're going to hit us, it'll be here," she says, eying the swarm in the sky warily. You have little doubt it will disappear if- or when- what she's deducing actually goes down.
"Well, we've come this far. All that's left is to try for it. Run fast, run hard, and stick together. Alright, on my ma-" Fran begins after a moment.
"Just a moment, if you will," Vlad interjects, looking towards a wooden pallet leaning against the wall. He steps over, studies it a moment, and then works on prying off a sturdy looking piece of it. Chief and Fran take this time to reload their shotguns, and you realize that Fran must have handed him some shells earlier.
Vlad give the length of wood a practice swing, and then, apparently satisfied, nods towards Fran.
"Allow me to be in the front, if you don't mind. I'd like the first... swing at them." He chuckles darkly, eyes dancing eagerly.
"Alright, get up here... Now, on my mark... Ready...."
You tense, preparing to bolt at the signal. Cynthia's hand slips into your free one. You look to see it appears to be an unconscious gesture; she's gazing at the vultures above with wide eyes. You give her hand a light squeeze, both to comfort and try and pull her out of that shell shocked look. She gives a start, glancing in your direction.
"MARK! GOGOGO!" Fran yells, pausing half a second herself to allow Vlad to be lead. Not ten steps out of the alley, the things above let out a conjoined screech and begin to dive at the group, one after another.
"DIE, YOU FILTHY
KORSHUN!" Vlad howls, catching the front runner with a mighty swing from his 2x4. The thing is thrown limply to the side from the blow, and Vlad keeps moving.
After that, you're too busy to note what happens exactly to the others. Another comes barreling out of the sky, heading directly at you and Cynthia. You prepare to try and dodge it, knowing it'd be better to save your last three shots for an emergency. Before you get the chance, a shotgun blast knocks it out of the air. From Fran or the Chief you're not sure, only thankful one of them was looking out for you.
You scan the air above you, trying to look all directions at once while still watching where you're going. You and Cynthia duck the next few that come your way, avoiding them by what is likely a good deal of luck.
"LOOK OUT," Cynthia suddenly yells, tackling you from behind. The both of you hit the ground, and you feel the rush of air as one of the things passes over you. "Thanks, now come on!" you urge, regaining your feet first and then helping her up.
The thunder of shotguns boom on both sides of you, these notes of battle tied together by a melody of ferocious roaring coming from the Russian bear.
Slowly, you notice the Chief's begun to fall behind. The Bear is relatively close to you; he's clearly not all that agile or quick footed, but he hasn't paused to break stride since it all started. You and Cynthia would have likely passed him by now if not for having to avoid the things diving towards you.
Fran, however, is now in the lead, albeit only by a few yards. The door draws near, maybe only a dozen yards off. Fran just breaks for it at an all out sprint, no longer bothering to try and fend the things off. She had just about made it when one of the things blindsides her, slamming headfirst into her with all the momentum it had gained from the dive. She goes tumbling to the side, hitting the ground hard. You see her try and lift herself up, only to fall back down. The creature flaps its wings a few times to stabilize itself before taking off back upwards.
Vlad reaches her first, and scoops her up in one arm. He runs a shoulder into the door, not bothering to stop. It swings inward, and he barrels inside with you and Cynthia close at his heels. You turn to see Chief half-run, half-limp up to the door, managing to duck the last-ditch attempt of one of the things and reach safety. You shut the door with a bang as soon as he's clear, and you hear several hard thumps collide against it.
"Get that barricade up!" Chief yells hoarsely, rolling his left shoulder. It gives a loud pop, and he grimaces. The rest of you immediately hop to rebuilding the wall of random junk, and Chief joins in soon after.
"What happened to you, ol' codger? That shotgun too heavy for you?" Vlad wondered aloud after a moment, panting heavily. The battle lust had faded from his eyes.
"One a 'em managed to clip mah shoulder as 'e came down. I think it went and dislocated it," he explains, too tired to reproach the Russian for the lack of respect. "Hurts like a bitch..."
The work went on in silence, and the things didn't try slamming into the door. Fran seemed to regain her senses and sits up woozily against the wall, a hand to her head.
"Hey... What'd you call them earlier. Back at the start?" you question Vlad as you finish up the barricade.
"What?
Korshun?"
"Yea, that. What's it mean? It sounds foreign."
"Well it is. Russian, actually. Means 'vulture'," he says disinterestedly. He's already looking towards Fran.
"Huh... As good a name as any I guess," you say, mostly to yourself. You watch as Vlad waltzes over to Fran and offers his hand.
"You alright?" he asks, sounding almost as if he didn't really care either way.
"Fine. Fine..." She says, getting to her feet.
"Good. Now, I believe you owe me that introduction." He smiles what he probably thinks to be his most winning smile. It's a tad too wide though, and Fran gives him an odd look.
"I'm Fran... That's the Chief, who I assume you've met, Steve, and Cynthia," she says quickly motioning to each in turn. She seems somewhat eager to divert his full attention from herself. "Listen, I need to go see if I can't find Doc. Make sure nothing's too busted up. But I'll see if I can't find Roy. He'll show you around," Fran says as she begins to slide away.
"Very well. It was a pleasure to meet you," Vlad says pleasantly, still smiling. He watches her go and turn down another hall. Once she's out of view, the smile disappears and he leans against the wall, deciding to wait for the promised tour guide.
"Listen... They're still out there," Cynthia suddenly pipes up. "I can hear them. Sounds like they're perched on the building..." You straining your ears to see if you can tell what she's talking about, but you can't make it out farther than the occasional caw.
"Well, son, I'm going to go grab something to eat. I haven't eaten since yesterday... Thanks for the help." Chief slips past you and down the hall, soon turning out of sight as well.
Stick around with Vlad and go along with him and Roy on the tour. You're curious about this new ally.
See if you can seek out Fran. You wouldn't mind having a chat with her.
[C]Go with the Chief to the mess hall. You'd like to catch up with him.
[D]Go look for Anya. You'd like to get to know her a bit better.
[E]Find somewhere quiet and try and contact The Other. Its been quiet recently, but you've come to terms that it's got a mind of its own. You've got to face up to it eventually.
[F]Go wandering the halls. You've got a gut feeling that you'll find something.... Or someone.
[Z]CYOA
Also, you're sure Cynthia will probably want to stick close by you, so, for all choices:
1. Say nothing and allow her to come along. You enjoy her company.
2. Ask her to leave you alone for awhile. You need a bit of space.
(OoC: This all may seem like a simple Who Do You Want Character Dev From choice, but it's none the less going to be important....)
Current Time: Day 4. 8:45 AM
Status:==Active Party:
Steve Ames: Bitten.
Hunger: 20%
Equipment:-9mm Beretta (3/13) 0 spare clips
-Empty 9mm clip
-Transceiver
Cynthia Smith:
Equipment: -Large kitchen knife
Fran Geller:
Equipment: -Pump Action Shotgun, (0/8) 0 extra shells
-Sharpened Rapier
Burt "The Chief" Williams:
Equipment: -Pump Action Shotgun, (3/8) 0 extra shells
-Standard issue police Taser gun
-Transceiver
Vladimir Zergovich
Equipment: -Nothing
Samuel "Doc" Morten:
Equipment: -Nothing
Anya McNeil:
Equipment: -Nothing
Alroy "Rat" McNeil:
Equipment: -Emerald topped Shillelagh
==Other Party:
==Vehicles:
Ben's Yellow Volkswagen: 12% Fuel
Containing: Baseball bat.