Zombie Apocalypse Quest V

>>500550
>>501693
>>502400

“Hodor...” you whisper through parted lips.

And the black tendrils that creep at the edge of your vision take you.

You don’t dream this time.

Your mind surfaces to consciousness before your body. Your eyelids do not obey your command to open over your burning eyes and the choking dryness of your throat refuses to allow you the simple relief of swallowing your own saliva, with the little you can conjure. Your ears ring with such deafening loudness that you fear for your sanity. But your mind is too hazy to penetrate.You do not move. You cannot.

You feel your lips part and a stream of water thread into them, lingering only a moment above your throat before trickling in. You feel a damp cloth on your face and neck and chest. And you slip back into unconsciousness.

When your mind surfaces once more, your mind is clearer. Your eyes still burn, and your ears still ring, but your throat is better and the pains of flesh has been tempered. You test your body before anything. Wriggling your fingers and toes and rolling your eyes in your sockets. You probe the surface you mount with your back and fingers
Soft. Every movement is painful and every sense of touch is numbed. It will have to suffice. You open your eyes.

The ceiling is white. You take steady, shallow breaths through your nose as you your roll your eyes around the room. From the little you can see without having to use your neck and risk agitating your pains, you can glean that you are once more in an apartment. You hear a dull noise, drowned out by your ringing ears. You focus.

“Hey, hey, relax now. You still need to recover.”

A head pops into your vision just over your head. Dark, curly hair drapes over a thin face that stares back at you with worried blue eyes. He offers a sheepish grin.

“I crushed in some aspirin with some water I gave you. Should've helped a little.”

Then it all comes crashing down on you. Where did Matthew go?

You part your lips to speak and urge yourself to release some semblance of a voice. But only airs is summoned. You try once more.

“Matthew...”

Your voice reverberates in your head, gravelly like the dead man and hauntingly fitting for your...new life. A moment of silence ensues as you wait for your answer. You consider asking once more but you do not want to speak again. But you do not have to.

“Oh...”

And only that is enough. A single vowel.

>Write in
>Say something (specify)
>Do something (specify)
>“You’re not Hodor.”

>>502942
>"You're not Hodor."

>>502950
lol I'll come back when there's more reception. Feel free to read the older threads.

The thread's that bad?

>>502950

The ringing subsides, now at a manageable pitch. The air is no longer murky but you now catch murmurs outside the room or apartment. Lots of voices.

“You're not Hodor.”

He stares at you blankly, clearly confused. A moment passes before the corners of his mouth twitch and take off in a grin. He chuckles.

“That was random. But no, I’m not Hodor, young Stark. Im Harry, as in Harry Potter. Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah,” you say, almost whisper. “Robert.” He smiles.

“No one knows what to think of what happened,” he says. You look at him questioningly. He catches your confusion.

“Oh, I mean you came back with someone but the rest of your team is missing. Gerald insisted that he leave to go search for them, seeing as how you’re in this condition. Some of us managed to stop him though, he’s in no condition himself. I’m not going to ask you any questions but there definitely will be others. You should rest before they come.”

“Oh,” you say.

There it is again. Oh.

>Tell him what happened
>Tell him to get Gerald
>Get up
>Ask a question (write in)
>Do something (write in)
>Write in

>>503101
I think it's just that a lot of questers are from US and are probably doing stuff as it's like the middle of the day. UKfag here so it's evening time for me.

>>503141

Ask if the girl in the wheelchair is okay, then tell him what happened.

>>503183

“Is the girl okay?” you ask. His face turns solemn.

“She’s a lot better than you but she was really shaken up,” he answers. "No physical harm except for some raw hands. I’m more worried about her mental state. She’s with the redhead, Madeleine?”

You feel some tension lift from your body. One worry, one burden lifted from your shoulders. You let out a small sigh of relief, barely noticeable even to you if it weren’t for the pain that ached with it.

“She said someone was lost, his name was Matthew? Madeleine, took her to her room before she said anything more but that seemed to be the source of a lot of the distress.” You nod in confirmation.

“Yeah...I didn’t see him but he saved us, I think.”

And along with the trigger of those words, the tension returns to your body, more suffocating than before. It ties knots in the muscles of your arms and legs and stomach and face and whatever HE must have lost being devoured in the mob of dead. All for Allison and you. To save your lives. The lives of someone he had only just met.

He was a hero. A damn true hero.

So you’ll tell it like it is.

You tell Harry how it started. Everything scary and nerve-racking but still smooth. How everything went downhill from that moment that you all decided too fast to cross that street. The carelessness of it all. How you and Matthew escaped coincidentally to Allison’s building via the fire escape. How you saw her S.O.S. How you and Matthew broke through her balcony doors because you had no time to waste. How you and Matthew convinced her to come. How you and Matthew struggled to get out of the building and back to the apartment with rotting corpses trying to kill you the entire way through. How you were too weak to keep pushing and he was too tired to compensate. How in the haze of not-quite conscious and not-quite unconscious, you could feel him leave but you could not process what it meant. And still how close you came to death thereafter, ever pronouncing the importance of his act of heroism in saving your lives. How you made it back without him. How one was saved and one was lost.

And when you’re done, you find yourself trembling with frustration and self-loathing. You catch Harry’s eyes and he flinches, as if he felt guilty for hearing something he shouldn’t have. But he remains silent. And that, you are relieved of. He nods and moves away, returning a moment later with a bottle of water. He trickles a thin stream down into your mouth. You take it thankfully. If only for a moment losing yourself in the cool stream.

“I know this might seem insensitive but it sounds like you lost contact with your other teammates. Should I go tell someone about this? It seems fairly urgent."

>Go after Rawan and Mallory yourself
>Get the fuck up already
>Say something (write in)
>Do something (write in)
>Write in

You still have that bike from the first chapter...which I'm sure 100% of you have forgotten.

(GuamFag here, I'm sleeping during yalls morning and working during your afternoon. Love this quest just hard to get on at same time.)

>>503593

Thanks, man. Really, nothing makes a writer happier when his readers say they enjoy his work (maybe except for writing itself). I'm a Muricafag, home of the bigots and land of the uneccesary +6000 calories a day. But I'm the most active during early mornings and late nights, though at that time I'm not writing.

My sleep schedule is skewed as is so I can't really make it easier for you. Apologies. The most I can do is make up a little earlier and try to write quicker- which I already do when possible. Thank you for still enjoying this, nevertheless.

On another note, awaiting responses to the prompt.

>>503331
>get up

>>503848
Get the fuck up already and go after them on the damned bike.

>>503919
The decision to go after them is a pretty big one. If there's support for this, Ill write.

Otherwise, every roll a 5d10 for
>get the fuck up
To determine your current physical state/recovery in the time you were out.

>>503937
>every
everyone

Everyone roll 5d10

Rolled 9, 3, 4, 6, 4 = 26 (5d10)

>>503937
The rush of pushing past our limits for the first time in our life had left a mark on us. We are sore but we've never felt stronger.

>>503848
Ausfag here, been following + posting since the second thread. The pace has been fine for me, I only check back once or twice a day but still get to be involved

>>503331
>Check in on Allison and Madeleine
see how Allison is holding up, and ask Madeleine if anyone saw which direction Rawan and Mallory went while she was on lookout duty.

>Check in on Gerald
Tell him you're heading out after the others alone. Check out his bite, make sure he's being watched in case he turns.

>Go after them on the bike alone

Rolled 3, 5, 4, 3, 7 = 22 (5d10)

>>503937

>>504459
>>504403
Thats going to hurt. Writing.
>>504452
Nice ideas. Again, I greatly encourage write-ins.

>>503913
>>503919
>>503937
>>504403
>>504452
>>504459

Need to get going.

You hold your breath and brace for pain. You feel every muscle tighten and scream for release as you awkwardly roll to an elbow and prop yourself upright. Your muscles feel as if they were ripped open, your joints and ligament feel torn from your body, and you feel your bones prickle with a dull, spiking pain. Soreness pervades the entirety of your body, from the base of your feet to the the length of your neck and before you can stop yourself, you release a terrible groan so terribly similar to that of the dead.y
Your vision wanes for a moment and when you come to it, you find Harry in front of you, his arms steadying your shoulders. His face is creased with worry and his deep, blue eyes reflect all his concern.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“Auuuhm,” you say, nodding.

“You shouldn’t be up yet. It’s not just your body but your mind too. You need to give your body some time to recover and adjust.”

You wave him off, arms protesting at the motion. Passing your limits for the first time in your life will surely shock your body. But the only thing you can do is keep moving forward, stronger and wiser than before. You get off the bed with much difficulty, and although Harry obviously does not approve of your actions, he helps you up. You stand and take a moment to steady yourself.

“I need to check on them and talk to Gerald,” you say. He frowns.

“Again, you need rest. But I have no authority over you so come on.” He slinks your arm over his shoulders and guides you to the door, your own shoulder and a number of other upper body muscles screaming in pain for being raised.

When he opens the door, the murmurs from earlier become clear. Almost the entire half-dozen of the residents from earlier are here. They whisper to one another, clearly frightened and nervous. Some glance at you, for a second looking as if they want to speak to you but then discarding the idea just as quick and returning to their hushed conversations. As you look around, you realize that you’re on the 6th floor. Home base. Harry does not elaborate on either as he guides you to Madeleine’s apartment. He knocks soft but firm.

A moment later, locks slide and click. The door cracks open and Madeleine peaks out.

“He- oh. Come in?”

She widens the door as you and Harry enter and apartment. The room appears too different from the last time you were here, despite the lack of visible change. For one, you notice a rope no longer hangs from the ceiling. You find Allison almost immediately. You see her before she sees you, looking out the window but immediately whipping her head back when the three of you near. For a moment, she looks like a cornered animal, still shaken from the experience outside. She looks slightly paler than you remember and she looks exhausted, her shoulders sagged and body slumoed over on her chair.

[1/2]

>>504800

“Oh...hello Robert,” her voice cracks.

“Hey,” you respond. Your voice sounds too hoarse to your ears.

“Holding up?” you ask.

“Trying,” she says, forcing a smile that comes out too sad.

For whatever reason, you open your mouth apologize before she cuts your you off with a small shake of your head.

“Not your fault,” she says.

But you don’t feel that way. You can’t. And you’d bet your wifi that she feels just as guilty if not more. You redirect your attention to Harry and Madeleine, who both remain silent and respectful as if they were spectators to a stranger’s funeral.

“I lost track of Rawan and Mallory,” you state, looking at Madeleine. “We were were split shortly after we left. Did you see which direction they went?”

“N-no, we weren’t up there yet. Sorry, Robert.” She avoids meeting your eyes, lips pressed to a thin line. You nod in response, that’s all you needed from here.

Or is it?

>Ask something more
>Go talk to Gerald now
>Write in

Done for today. Ill continue tommorrow morning- probably 9 hours from now- with this
>>504452
as the outline. Unless you guys have any other ideas.

Night, my anons. Stay cool.

>>504818
hi OP, newfag in this thread, i just finished reading previous threads

wots your timezone?

i liked ur threads, they are improving quite a lot, but, desu, just like someone told u in the previous thread talking about the dice system, u should think about about some new system, a nice example is this top-tier quest for example

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Ogre%20Civilization%20Quest

where the dice is not used in a binary form (e.g if u roll over 35 u shall pass the bridge, if not, u die)

anyway, thats my two cents

greetings from south america

>>504807
Also it would be really cool if u post our inventory at the start of every thread, or something like that, so we wont forget our bike, or our machete's sheat or whatever we have at our disposal

>>504807
anyway, we should be going to talk to gerald now, we have a lot of problems right now, starting with those zombies above us that probably will attract more

Guys? Sorry, I mnow I usually start sooner but Im going to sleep an hour more. Fell asleep at 5 AM in the morning after excercising.
It's 10:50 at the moment.

>>505974
It isn't that cut and dry. I just want players to know what the cut-off is. There are different degrees of success and failure. The DC is just the line between them. If the task is difficult, there's a higher chance for failure. And for every roll, the failures is dictated by the situation. The worst degree of failure for sneaking down the stairs may kust be making too noise and giving yourself away. Or maybe, being more severe, you get attacked with no warning. Or being simple, you fall down the damn stairs.

The added mechanic of having multiple rolls clear cut the degrees of success or failure into levels. But more importantly, allow more players to participate.in things other than just voting what decision but also how successful it'll be.

Knowing this, should I still change it? It seems pretty alright to me but again, Im fairly new at this. I haven't really changed much of anything in terms of the dice system since the first thread, something I find worrying me.

And holy shit I overslept

>>504452
>>505974

“I need to talk to Gerald,” you whisper to Harry.

He nods and you take your leave in silence. Madeleine walks the two of you to the door but says nothing more. You convince yourself in part because she doesn’t know what to say.

You shuffle back outside into the hall. Still, people stay huddled aganist walls. Whispering, talking, fretting, balking. Harry leads you back to the stairway. Hesitating a second before pushing into the metal slab. It’s swing on the hinges echos through the stairs and cuts through the hushed whispers of the floor. You look up to find everyone on the floor looking, fear hidden in the creases of their worry lines. They turn back.

The two of you dive into the darkness. The first thing you notice is the noise. A far off echo of impact aganist a metal. Banging. Rabid banging. Then the wanting presence of light. There are less candles than you remember. Nonetheless, their shadows they cast dance like malevolent spirits to a forbidden ritual.

“Watch your steps,” Harry advises.

Tap tap tap.

The two of you descend further into the darkness. With each and every step, your legs feel as if they were being assaulted by searing knives. You press your mouth to a thin line and take the pain in grunts and winces. You catch Harry looking at you from the corner of your eye, a contrast of orange candlelight and purple shadows striking his face. Both highlighting the concern in his features but all the more pronouncing a menacing mask.

Just the shadows...

Soon, you begin to hear the slightest wisp of voices. The two of you approach the 3rd floor platform. And for a moment, you are elated with hope at the aspect of two of the three figures being Rawan and Mallory, being greeted by Gerald. But no. There is no feminine ring. There is no sarcastic undertone.

“Gerald?” Harry whispers.

The figures shuffle, their figures shaded with too many shades of grey and black each. They shimmer like scales in the faint luminosity of the candle’s flickering embers. A figure waves and Harry guides you down the corridor. You’re on the 2nd floor now, you think. But what greets you jumpstarts your heart. Even by today’s standards, and in the mid-light and mid-dark of the stairwell, who you take a moment to process as Gerald looks haunting. His skin is pale and sickly. You catch beads of sweat that hang between his brow and mount his forehead. He looks dead already. You catch a strand of white peeking out from a side of his shirt collar. Bandages?

“Robert,” whispers Gerald. His voice is hoarse. He offers a small, pained smile.

“Gerald...how’s your bite?” you ask. He stares at you for a moment, suddenly breaking into a soft chuckle cut short by a painful grimace.

“Feels like hell. I feel so cold, Robert. But at the same time, I feel like I’m coming down with a fever. Either I die of an infection or I turn.”

First order of business?

>Write in (say, ask, do what?)

>>506629
oh, man, srry, i thought the dice rolling was just a binary thing. the higher DC when a task is difficult seems fair to me.

>>507157
It's cool. I'm thankful for your feedback. As for your inventory, ask anytime and I'll provide it. But I'll start posting it at the start of every thread from now on like you suggested. Also, you asked about the time: it's 4 PM over here.

>>506990
Guys? The prompt?

>>506990
shit, the cripplefu has a cellphone, so does Mallory (that fag was listening to music with her sibling)
maybe someone here has her cellphone number? if we're lucky she's alive and she can guide us where she is

also: do we have a guard downstairs? and some surveillance in the rooftop?

>>507271
(im talking about we should send a rescue party, including us if we can, we're tired but we have a decent experience (even we can make speed bumps and shit)

>>507271
>>507276
Writing
Not too sure about bringing more than one other person for our one bike

File: 11954570_1489283038053704_1083681021437252497_n.jpg (10KB, 355x283px) Image search: [Google]

10KB, 355x283px

>>507294
forgot about the bike lmoa

>>504452
>>507271

He smiles.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got these two looking after me,” he says, gesturing to two towering men who flank his sides.

One, you recognize is Sir Toilet Plunger. An unruly beard cascade down to his chest and he dones what looks comically like a viking helmet. Probably a collector's item. He notices you looking at him and he gives you a toothy grin. You shift your gaze to the other man. He looks like...well a large sloth. With glasses. He wields a bloody broomstick. Interesting. You turn back to Gerald.

“I lost contact with Rawan and Mallory,” you put out bluntly. Gerald releases a tired sigh.

“I figured. It’ll be hard do anything about it though. The dead are inside the lobby, vying to get in the stairway. They can smell us...I can feel it.” he says, a loud bang echoing through the stairwell as to confirm the report.

“Everyone’s moved up to the sixth floor to get as far away as they can from the lobby and...well, the banging. We managed to barr back up the door but that doesn’t stop them from still trying to get in. They’ve been on it for about an hour now,” he says grimly. “Oh, not that I’m blaming you, Ro-”

“We lost Matthew,” you say, cutting him off. “Lost him for good.”

The air whistles with passing silence, only broken by rattling of a door floors below. Everyone averts their gaze. The smoky scent of tiny flames bristle your nose. Gerald’s frown deepens and his eyes squeeze shut as seconds pass.

“Samuel won’t like that,” he finally mutters. Almost lost in the incessant banging.

“I want to go search for Rawan and Mallory. I’m not losing another two,” you assert resolutely.

“Robert, you’re in no condition. It’s suicide,” he says.

“When we got separated, Matthew said the most we could do is go on with the plan. Get to the mall. What if Rawan and Mallory are there right now? Waiting for us? Me?”

He doesn’t answer immediately. Through his deadening eyes, you catch glimpses of gears grinding, turning over in a metallic squeal of stress and overwork.

“Fine, you’re your own man, Robert. And you seem sure enough. Just promise to bring some people with you, yes?”

“Yeah,” you agree. You pause. “No one would happen to have their phone number, would they?”

“Unfortunately not, I already asked,” he says, offering a consoling smile.

Time for another go.

>Ask a question (write in)
>Do something (write in)
>Write in

Who do you ask to accompany you?

>Gerald
>Sir Toilet Plunger
>The other guy beside Gerald
>Madeleine
>Harry
>Someone else?

>>507465
(Haven't finished reading other threads yet so can't make choices in-character yet, sorry)

Sir toilet plunger. He charged a zombie horde with a fucking plunger, who else can challenge his might?

>>507485
Seriously worried about how we're going to fit a guy that large on the back of our bike. Our vice versa because our body's had enough for one day.

>>507474
"Just to make sure...You don't have telepathic control over the zeds now that you're half zombie, right? Because that's been in a few movies, I'm pretty sure."
Take plungerman, the viking lord of clog slaying

>>507534
Riding on the back of a bike is ez pz if it has those little silver footrails specifically for it. They seem common as fuck on bikes these days, at least in california. Just stand on them and hold the other person's back.

He should pedal.

kek You anons are aware that this is primarily a rescue mission, right?

Hold on. Going to get a little something in me and I'll write.

>>507594
This. Why are we even bringing a bike? We can't bring back 3 people on a bike even if we go alone.

>>507631
Because getting there quickly and easily is important
Mallory and rawan might be far-ish away.

Also outrunning zeds on the way there will be significantly easier

Plus. We're less of a burden if we have a bike, so they don't have to slow down for our out of shape ass.

I was refering to the decision of bringing Conan the Barbarian.

Writing.

>>507684
He's to make up for our physical incapability
He can pedal our twiggy frame easily

>>507708
Never said he wasnt a good choice. I implied it but he definitely has his benefits.

I don't feel like writing today :c I'll try though

Sorry, anons. My unicorn is done. I can't write anything good anymore today. I can try and maybe I'll post something later but ita highly unlikely. So for now, good night.

>>507828
:-(

>>504807
>“N-no, we weren’t up there yet. Sorry, Robert.” She avoids meeting your eyes, lips pressed to a thin line. You nod in response, that’s all you needed from here. Or is it?

Something seems off here, is she lying? Did she see them get eaten? Is there some reason whe wasn't up at her post? she should've had plenty of time.

>>507474
>>507485
>>507828
If it's not too late to write-in, it might be worth leaving Toilet Viking behind, in case Gerald turns. We wouldn't want a zombie-Gerald stuck in a room with all the panicky non-fighters.

Suggesting we go alone on our rescue/redemption mission. We need to be quick and quiet, and we could possibly ferry one person on the bike it if we need to, but not if we take someone else.

>>508436
shit, i didnt realize that, i just thought she was embarrased for not being there guarding when shit happened

>>508436
we should stare the fuck out of her with our NEET, socially retarded powers until she cringe out and spit out the truth

if they're at the mall, then maybe we can steal another bike there for them, dont u think?

I'll support leaving sir plunger, then.

>Wut
So we're going with Madeleine?

>>509218
I still vote for bringing viking

Guys, Im going to take a break. Maybe until Sunday, two days from now. I don't want to spew any monotonous literary bullshit in a desperate attempt to write something. I'm really sorry. Just give me time, please. I'll post a notification on the General Quest Thread and here. I may also make a new thread. Until then, stay cool anons. Sorry.

>>509299
don't stress, you gotta enjoy the quest just as much as we do! looking forward to see where it goes

>>508436
>>509218
Let's leave Madeleine for now, if she's hiding something, we can talk to her again if we make it back.

I agree with leaving plunger viking on guard duty, and going solo.

Let's make sure we know where we're going though - do we need directions for the store? Better ask Gerald while we're here.

Hey, anons. This is Your father. I'll probably be continuing tommorrow.

>>515407
That's awesome to hear dad! I love your bed time stories!

Daddy's back. The Zombie Apocalypse Quest is back and running.
>>518454

Ummm... Is there a New Threas or?