EOTC: The Living Nightmare

[Chaser1]

The doors to the shed slam shut with Beth and Mazur still inside. Reggie notices Ryan give the 'are you serious?' gesture as the rotting man lunges at Irina. Ryan immediately dashes forward, shoulder tackling the zombie-like creature and knocking it to the ground, causing Reggie to miss with his sword. The homemade sword sparks off of the gravel on the ground as Irina backs away, tightly gripping the hedge shears. The creature's hand whifs through the air as Reggie deftly pikes backwards, apprehensive of how strong it may be. It begins to get up but stumbles back down. Fortunate for it, Ryan's pitchfork misses it's head and skips across the ground.

Ryan's expression is grim as he tries to circle around the thing as Irina takes advantage of it's focus on Reggie, impaling it, deeply from behind, enough for the tips of the garden sheers to poke through its chest. It turns to engage Irina. Ryan runs around, scoops up his pitchfork and immediately tosses it without looking. The tines narrowly miss the back of Rena's head, slicing the air next to her ear, and impales deeply into the creatures chest, right above Irina's shears.

Irina shouts, "Crap!"

At the same time, Ryan shouts, "Run! It can't be killed! I stuck him square with it." The trio hot foot it away.

Imagine your world, turned upside down. Everything you know, love and call home, slowly destroyed. That crack in the wall of the local store, now desicrated with blood. The library up ahead, has another of these creatures, stooped over Gail Mitchel, one of the townsladies. She looks dead, and that... The creature is actually Donnie Rothman, the local expert on horticulture. Why is his choking her? What is going on? Donnie looks up from Gail and his lifeless eyes show a slight sign of expression, as though he must catch the trio, and do unspeakable things! Gail lays there, convulsing. Off to their left, one of the houses is nothing but a raging fire. In front of it, lay two unidentified people, nearly burned to their bones. Donnie begins running towards them; Ryan and Reggie both realize quickly that Irina is no where near as fast as them, they are forced to slow down. The rotting man is hot on their trail.

The nightmares, from beyond the lines, have returned!

OOC: Welcome back, Tim.

[Norgarth]

The doors to the shed slam shut with Beth and Mazur still inside. Reggie notices Ryan give the 'are you serious?' gesture as the rotting man lunges at Irina. Ryan immediately dashes forward, shoulder tackling the zombie-like creature and knocking it to the ground, causing Reggie to miss with his sword. The homemade sword sparks off of the gravel on the ground as Irina backs away, tightly gripping the hedge shears. The creature's hand whifs through the air as Reggie deftly pikes backwards, apprehensive of how strong it may be. It begins to get up but stumbles back down. Fortunate for it, Ryan's pitchfork misses it's head and skips across the ground.

Ryan's expression is grim as he tries to circle around the thing as Irina takes advantage of it's focus on Reggie, impaling it, deeply from behind, enough for the tips of the garden sheers to poke through its chest. It turns to engage Irina. Ryan runs around, scoops up his pitchfork and immediately tosses it without looking. The tines narrowly miss the back of Rena's head, slicing the air next to her ear, and impales deeply into the creatures chest, right above Irina's shears.

Irina shouts, "Crap!"

At the same time, Ryan shouts, "Run! It can't be killed! I stuck him square with it." The trio hot foot it away.

Imagine your world, turned upside down. Everything you know, love and call home, slowly destroyed. That crack in the wall of the local store, now desicrated with blood. The library up ahead, has another of these creatures, stooped over Gail Mitchel, one of the townsladies. She looks dead, and that... The creature is actually Donnie Rothman, the local expert on horticulture. Why is his choking her? What is going on? Donnie looks up from Gail and his lifeless eyes show a slight sign of expression, as though he must catch the trio, and do unspeakable things! Gail lays there, convulsing. Off to their left, one of the houses is nothing but a raging fire. In front of it, lay two unidentified people, nearly burned to their bones. Donnie begins running towards them; Ryan and Reggie both realize quickly that Irina is no where near as fast as them, they are forced to slow down. The rotting man is hot on their trail.

The nightmares, from beyond the lines, have returned!

The first thing Reggie realized as they attacked the thing, was that he really should have grabbed a shovel or hoe or something rather than the sword. He'd made the choice based on nostalgia and the steel was still strong despite the surface rust, but a sword made for a 10 year old lacks not only reach and weight, but most importantly, an actual edge.

Irina and Ryan quickly end up embedding their weapons in the thing (which may be the safer option the way Ryan way throwing around that pitchfork), but the monster doesn't seem to care.
'I don't know what's up with Beth and Mazure,' Reggie thinks to himself, 'but the best we can do is lead this thing away from the shed. Damn but I wish I still had that fishing gaff, too bad one of the adults took it from me back at the river.'

As they made their way out of town at Irina's best speed, Toy sword clutched tightly in his hand and head on a swivel, Reggie spoke. "What happened to Donnie? Are these things contagious?"

[Chaser1]

The first thing Reggie realizes as they attack the thing is that he really should've grabbed a shovel or hoe or something other than the sword. He'd made the choice based on nostalgia and the steel was still strong despite the surface rust, but a sword made for a 10 year old lacks not only reach and weight, but most importantly, an actual edge.

Irina and Ryan quickly end up embedding their weapons in the thing (which may be the safer option the way Ryan way throwing around that pitchfork), but the monster doesn't seem to care. 'I don't know what's up with Beth and Mazur,' Reggie thinks to himself, 'but the best we can do is lead this thing away from the shed. Damn but I wish I still had that fishing gaff, too bad one of the adults took it from me back at the river.' As they make their way out of town at Irina's best speed, toy sword clutched tightly in his hand and head on a swivel, Reggie says, "What happened to Donnie? Are these things contagious?"

The primal fear radiating from Ryan's eyes is enough for Reggie to realize that he either doesn't know, doesn't care, and wants as far away as he can be. Donnie is gaining on them. He's faster than the other one! The sound of gunfire can be heard from across town. The sounds of motorcycles or ATVs can be heard in the distance, north of town. The sound of a vehicle with a very powerful engine seems to be tearing through the town. Reggie is unsure of which direction. Irina slows down, beginning to run out of breath. Things are not looking good. Back toward the library, Gail Mitchel slowly gets up, her lifeless eyes stare directly at Reggie. The purple hand prints still imprinted around neck; her windpipe looks crushed. She begins running towards Reggie, but doesn't seem quite as fast as Donnie.

Each of Irina's breaths resonate a panicked whimper, painfully apparent that she isn't as fast or endured as the boys. Her eyes reveal that these things will get her, sooner or later. Reggie realizes that his only option to save her is to turn and fight.

[Norgarth]

The primal fear radiating from Ryan's eyes is enough for Reggie to realize that he either doesn't know, doesn't care, and wants as far away as he can be. Donnie is gaining on them. He's faster than the other one! The sound of gunfire can be heard from across town. The sounds of motorcycles or ATVs can be heard in the distance, north of town. The sound of a vehicle with a very powerful engine seems to be tearing through the town. Reggie is unsure of which direction. Irina slows down, beginning to run out of breath. Things are not looking good. Back toward the library, Gail Mitchel slowly gets up, her lifeless eyes stare directly at Reggie. The purple hand prints still imprinted around neck; her windpipe looks crushed. She begins running towards Reggie, but doesn't seem quite as fast as Donnie.

Each of Irina's breaths resonate a panicked whimper, painfully apparent that she isn't as fast or endured as the boys. Her eyes reveal that these things will get her, sooner or later. Reggie realizes that his only option to save her is to turn and fight.

Seeing Mrs Mitchel stand up again is disturbing, but it does seem to indicate that 'contagious' is an applicable term. Which is really not good.
Briefly, Reggie considers picking up Irina and carrying her, but he's unsure how far he could carry her, and it would just leave him tired out as well.

Crap, he was going to have to fight that thing, wasn't he. "Ryan, grab some rocks and swing over to the left. I'm going to swing around to the right and try to flank him. When I tell you, throw some rocks at him and draw his attention. I'm gonna try to slow him down."

Reggie will try to get within a few meters of the zombie but stay out of arms reach. Then he'll signal Ryan . hopefully the rocks will draw it's attention, at which point Reggie will rush in and hack at it's legs (the back of the knees if he can aim well enough). hopefully it'll slow it enough for Irina to outrun it.

[Chaser1]

Seeing Mrs Mitchel stand up again is disturbing, but it does indicate that 'contagion' is an applicable term. This isn't good. Briefly, Reggie considers picking up Irina and carrying her, but he's unsure how far he could carry her. It'd just leave him tired out as well. Crap, he's going to have to fight that thing, isn't he? "Ryan, grab some rocks and swing over to the left. I'm going to swing around to the right and try to flank him. When I tell you, throw some rocks at him and draw his attention. I'm gonna try to slow him down."

Ryan absently nods as he scoops up a few stones. The original rotting man is closest as Reggie and Ryan turn to distract it. Yet, it seems entirely transfixed on catching Irina, who is now barely stumbling ahead of it. As the duo turn to engage the creature, Reggie notices that Donnie will arrive within moments. Irina collapses and quickly rolls past Ryan, attempting to place Ryan between her and it. It shifts its attention to Ryan. He quickly tries to back peddle, almost tripping backwards over Irina, distracting him.

Reggie quickly realizes that the creatures are deceptively fast. It lashes out with snakelike reflexes as Ryan tries to duck under its punch. Ryan's forehead whips backwards from the impact. He instantly sees stars and trips backwards over Irina. Reggie watches in terror as Ryan's eyes roll back. He's unconscious. He's only seen that once before when Hughe had punched him. Reggie uses the opportunity and lunges forward and deftly swings his sword at its Achilles. To his surprise, the sickly acoustics of his blade cleaving through both flesh and bone, leaves the creature with both feet amputated as it tumbles toward Irina and Ryan. (N20! Nice!)

Irina acts quickly as it grasps for Ryan's leg, dragging him several feet away, hoisting him from under the shoulders. Her panicked cries cease as she nods past Reggie, frozen in place, radiating sudden fear in her eyes. Reggie turns to see Donnie's lifeless eyes transfixed on him from mere yard away. Mrs. Mitchel is now shambling rather slowly from the library to join the skirmish.

"Somebody! Help!" Irina screams.

Reggie notices blood pour from Ryan's nose like a kitchen faucet. He begins to sputter blood from his mouth as he coughs himself awake. He'd only been unconscious a few seconds, but he is in dire shape. Donnie's unnaturally unnerving, demonically yellow eyes are a stark contrast Donnie's formerly soft, brown gaze. Reggie freezes up for a second, long enough for Donnie to take a swing with his oversized fist. Reggie narrowly weaves backwards, witnessing, up close, the 'whif' sound as the fist cuts through air. Distracted by several moments of intense action, Reggie becomes increasingly aware of a large vehicle accelerating toward him!

OOC: Unfortunately, Reggie failed his HF check on Donnie, giving Donnie automatic initiative. Ryan is still technically unconscious, he took 21 SDC... that's nearly fatal. Irina is doing what she can to keep Ryan safe, keeping the original dead guy from getting him, leaving Reggie to deal with Donnie.

[Norgarth]

OOC: Understandable that Reggie'd freeze up there, the first one was just some weird monster, Donnie was somebody Reggie knew personally. Naturally it'll effect him more.

IC:
Turning to see what Irina was scared of, Reggie finds himself all too close to Donnie. Reggie is frozen for a moment. He'd known Donnie for years, he was a neighbor and a general nice guy. Seeing him like this...

Donnie's fist whipping passed his face centers Reggie's attention firmly on the current situation, as he tries to continue backing away at an angle away from Irina and Ryan. If Donnie is going to focus on him, he might as well draw it away from the others. He'll try to cut at the tendons in Donnie's arms as he defends himself.

[Chaser1]

Reggie's known Donnie for years, he's a neighbor and generally a nice guy. Seeing him like this... Reggie centers his attention firmly on the situation. He backs away at an angle, leading Donnie away from Irina and Ryan.

Reggie simply steps backward as Donnie swipes with outstretched fingers, lunging forward. Then he unexpectedly dives at Reggie, arms outstretched to try and capture him into a hug. Reggie easily sidesteps, letting Donnie tumble along the ground. The approaching vehicle skids to a halt, right behind him.

OOC: (Another N20! You're on a roll), however you lost initiative meaning you spent the entire round defending. Consuming all actions.

Meanwhile, Irina continues frantically dragging Ryan backwards; the footless corpse crawling rapidly after! They don't feel pain! Ryan tries to pick up his knees, attempting to distance the gap from the creature's grasp. He only succeeds in sputtering more blood from his mouth, freckling his face with red dots and a thick, dark red stream from the corner of his mouth to his ear.

Unexpectedly, a black and white Sedan skids over the top of creature's body, crushing its head with a sickly, popping, wet crunch. The car abruptly stops, dragging its body underneath. The passenger's door bursts open, revealing a blonde man, brandishing a pistol of some sort. He sprints over to Irina, "Get him into the car, NOW!" Hoisting Ryan over his shoulders.

[Norgarth]

Reggie isn't sure who the newcomers are but he's glad they dealt with the first monster and are helping Irina and Ryan. Especially since it's taking pretty much all of his attention and ability to hold off Donnie.

He does gesture off down the street towards the 'not as late as she should be' Mrs Mitchell, calling out, "Watch out for that one." Whoever these people are, they are aiding us, so Reggie doesn't want them getting blindsided by her.

Now if only he could figure out how to take down Donnie... (OOC: still hacking, parrying and dodging as best he can)

[Chaser1]

Reggie isn't sure who the newcomers are but he's glad they've dealt with the first monster and are helping Irina and Ryan. Especially since it's taking all of his effort to hold off Donnie. He gestures, down the street, towards 'not as late as she should be' Mrs Mitchell, calling out, "Watch out for that one." oO(Whoever these people are, they are aiding us)Oo Reggie doesn't want them getting blindsided.

Reggie doesn't hesitate as Donnie attempts getting back to his feet. He swiftly cleaves his cheek off. The meat is fresh, then quickly begins seeping blood. The reality of Reggie is doing is slowly sinking in. He's cleaving into a well respected and beloved man. Reggie quickly refocuses as Donnie's massive fist wafts the air in front of his nose.

"Ryan... no, please! Don't die!" Irina sobs, "Stay with me!" As the interceptor's door shuts, then squaks gravel from under its tires as it takes off to the west, past Mrs. Mitchel. The familiar sounds of two ATVs approach from the east, behind Reggie.

Reggie realizes that the blonde man from the car stayed behind. "Try and circle around him! I'll try to tackle him!"

[Norgarth]

Reggis tries to focus on the fists and not the face as he fights his former neighbor.

Responding to the blond man, he says, "I'm not sure that's a good idea. They are freakishly strong and they don't seem to feel pain."