EVENT ★ THE SICK AND THE DEAD

[futurologists]

THE LAST HURRAH STATE OF WOODHURST Things are bad. There's more infected on the streets every day, ravenous since their would-be victims are all boarded up in their houses. Audentes members who are infected are likely feeling ravenous now, too, and some of them are far gone enough that they might need to be subdued. The city is in a state of panic, and the military has been given permission to use lethal force if necessary to stop people from leaving quarantine; keeping the virus contained is the number one priority of the federal government. As for the local government, all non-essential persons have been given leave until further notice for their own safety. The police department is still running, but they're in a constant war against the infected, forced to retaliate fatally more and more each day. They have no time to focus on any other crimes. Some citizens would be thankful if Audentes ran some "errands" for them — attempting to loot what's left of the stores, for example — or accompanied them outside as protection. Many people have family to see, some of them on the other side of the city, but it's nearly impossible to get there without a bodyguard of some sort. Someone could possibly make some cash this way, but there's something more important to do. MEANWHILE . . . The hospital, formerly chaotic, has devolved into outright bedlam. Theft and fights with the staff are increasingly common, and frenzied people are constantly demanding a cure the doctors don't have. Fortunately, it looks like Audentes does. Science-minded recruits have been hard at work creating a vaccine, which is widely available already, and a cure, which is rolling out slower. Administering the vaccine is risky, as it requires escorting people to the hospital without getting killed, as well as hoping the infected constantly wandering into the hospital have been taken care of. Administering the cure is even more so; it's highly recommended that the infected be unconscious before being given the cure. Even Bristol sufferers have to sleep! If not asleep, knocked out or otherwise sedated will do. It is absolutely not recommended for anyone to go at an angry infected with a syringe, but it's not like anyone's going to stop you... except maybe the infected. Escorts and security guards are necessary at the hospital. The police department has offered their services, with their main priority being the vaccine. Until everyone is vaccinated, the city can't afford to think of a way to safely administer a cure to the infected population, so anyone interested will have to do it themselves. Stock up on syringes at the hospital and get going! DR. PERCY For those more interested in seeking out the source of the virus rather than treating it, it's not difficult to surmise that "Doctor" Percy is hiding out in the sewers. Very deep in the sewers. He's apparently built a subterranean expansion: a series of winding, metallic tunnels with many forks and dead ends. Be careful when exploring, as you might run into one of Percy's robotic bodyguards before finding him. But once he is found, tucked away in a wide cavern . . . It seems he's preparing a hasty exit, with almost everything packed up and his human disguise dropped. Without it, he appears to be an alien of some sort, but not one that Audentes has run into yet. His skin is amber, smooth, and slimy. He has several pairs of wide-set eyes of different sizes, but no nose. His mouth extends far across his face, and below it is a wattle, not unlike that of a turkey. Peeling off him at all times are scales; apparently, he's shedding more than just his disguise. He's completely alone, without another Zymandis agent in sight, and not a particularly good fighter. Subduing or killing him would be easy, especially when it's several against one. When first encountered, he says nothing if spoken to, and only attempts to run. If attacked, he will summon several robot bodyguards -- seven-foot-tall bipedal constructs who only listen to Percy's commands, directed via remote control. They will fight to the death to protect their master, who will use the distraction to again try to run. It looks like the choices are clear: Audentes must choose whether to non-lethally subdue him or kill him. If subdued, what happens to him afterwards is still up in the air. Whatever your decision, it's highly likely you'll meet some resistance from the other members of the team, so get ready to argue. CYOA Each character will only be able to officially do one of the following choices. Confront Percy. Protect citizens. Spread the vaccine/cure. Other. For the sake of tallying, we ask that each individual character submit their choice separately rather than in a group. The Dr. Percy encounter will be open for 48 hours only, after which participants will receive the outcome, which will be based on their choices. The rest will be open for 7 days, will not receive a reply, and will only be used only for tallying purposes. Making a choice is not mandatory, but the choices will affect whether Audentes passes or fails the mission. You may of course thread out other options, but they will not count for the purposes of the pass/fail tally. Again, you may only officially choose one option per character. OOC NOTES Because this log is being posted late in the month, threads are eligible for March or April AC, but not both. Though the encounter with Percy will be a short one, the rest of this log will last two IC weeks. After that, characters will be immediately rifted away from Woodhurst without warning. THOSE WHO RECEIVE THE CURE: As the virus is not a degenerative disease, characters will suffer no lasting (physical) trauma caused by it. Side-effects from the cure may include nausea, weakness, vertigo, rash, brain fog, numbness of the face, insomnia, dizziness, fatigue, heart palpitations, or vomiting. This may last for anywhere up to four weeks. THOSE WHO RECEIVE THE VACCINE: Side-effects may include irritability and hunger for anywhere up to four weeks. Questions about Woodhurst can be submitted to this thread. Questions about the game in general should be directed to the FAQ. You may submit mission ideas or player plots at any time. All bounties listed with a 3/25 due date are now closed. There are two open bounties remaining on the Bounty Board, which will need to be turned in by the end of the mission on 8 April. ( 1 2 )

Comments

CLOSED | vaughn

[dbag]

Ohhh, my god, can you just do it, I seriously want to claw your face off and, haha, wouldn't you know, it's kind of freaking me out!!!

[ He's feeling testy. Just a little bit. Because 1) he's an actual zombie, and 2) he doesn't like being stabbed with needles. He's not exactly a threat, especially since he took the battery pack out of his robo-arm, but the point remains that he does feel a strong urge to go berserk on Vaughn's face and/or body. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, trying to will away the murdery urges while he waits for Vaughn to give him the cure already. ]

Oh, my god, that hurts like a son of a— [ Vaughn hasn't even done it yet, he's just being dramatic. ] ...Sorry, I was just imagining it.

ten thousand years later, sorry

[moneyman]

[ holy shit. he can't blame Rhys for this bratty behavior (brattier than usual, perhaps), but now that he literally has the cure in his hand, he's finally calmed down enough that it actually grates on him a little. ]

Oh, would you just—

[ he's more than ready to give Rhys this goddamned cure, but at this rate Rhys will flail at the last second and there'll be blood everywhere and it'll just be a bad time for everyone involved.

time for one last zombie-pacifying hug for the road. ]

—Calm down, okay? It's almost over. You made it.

it's ok!!! ♥

[dbag]

[ He sure does love Vaughn hugs, and they're even better when they're literally scientifically proven to make him less rage-y and cannibalistic. He relaxes a little (he's still about to have a needle jabbed into him for an experimental cure), taking a breath before holding out his arm, a little more steady this time. ]

Okay, just... get it over with before I get second thoughts about letting you stab me. [ It's only a needle, he's being a giant baby. ] To be fair, if anyone has to stab me, I'm glad it's you.

[moneyman]

Awww. That's so sweet of you to say. [ he pulls back and uncaps the needle, giving Rhys's noodle arm a once-over, unable to conceal a wince. this might suck, but it'll cure his best friend. it's 100% worth it.

so he hovers with the needle just above Rhys's skin, taking a deep breath. he can't possibly fuck this up, can he? time to find out. ]

Okay, here we go. One, two...

[ —and on three, he inserts the needle as gently as he possibly can, injects the cure, and then pulls it back out, quickly but carefully. success!? ]

Ta-da, you're cured! [ he makes a grand arm gesture before realizing he probably shouldn't be waving a used needle around. whoops. ] That wasn't so bad, right?

[dbag]

[ He whines like a baby when the needle goes in; he's gotten tattoos, but this does not have a "cool" (citation needed) outcome, just not being a brain-dead cannibalistic zombie, so it's harder to be a ~stoic badass~ about it. Which he obviously was when he got that giant tattoo, he didn't cry at all. He's also just feeling irritable and overdramatic, so it was necessary to be a drama queen about it.

Afterwards, though, he asks, ] Oh, that was it? [ As if he wasn't just making a huge deal out of it. ] Haha. Oh. [ The anticipation hurt more than the actual shot, he got all worked up for nothing. He sits there for a moment, silent, brow furrowed like he's concentrating on something. ] ...So, how am I supposed to feel? How do we know if it worked? I can't tell if it worked. Oh, god, what if it didn't work.

[moneyman]

[ he fully expected the whining; it doesn't deter him. he's sensitive to these things, for sure, but Rhys has been whiny and irritable for weeks now, and this is where it ends.

...or it's where the healing begins, anyway. whatever. it's not that he's not sympathetic—god knows he was a wreck knowing Rhys was sick—but after the mini-tantrum he witnessed with the tranquilizer, his perspective has changed a little. no pain, no gain, bro.

he very carefully recaps the needle before looking back up at Rhys, grinning brightly. ]

That's it! Don't worry, it'll work. People have been busting their asses on this for months. There's no way they'd roll it out if they weren't sure. [ he claps Rhys on the opposite shoulder confidently. ] I mean, there might be some side effects, but the important part is you're not gonna die.

[ he sounds casual and jovial about it, but a sentiment like that deserves to be reiterated more sincerely. so he takes a moment to smile fondly at his best friend, giving his shoulder a squeeze. ]

...Seriously, though. I'm really, really glad you're gonna be okay. Like, more than I can even say, I think.

[dbag]

[ Vaughn is so freakin' sweet, he can't take it, he's going to get a cavity. He has the best BFF in the world, his BFF could kick everyone else's BFFs' asses in a niceness contest. He's still not a hundred percent confident, but it's nice to hear Vaughn be. Sort of ironic, since before he was always the one faking big confidence while Vaughn cowered. Oh, how the turntables. ]

Ha. Yeah. [ He lets out something in between a sigh and a laugh, raising his eyebrows. ] I didn't want to say anything, but I was definitely figuring out who would get custody of you if I died. [ Who is his God-best-friend? There needs to be a line of succession in case anything happens to him. He gets himself into a lot of tight spots. ] Kidding. Mostly. I mean, I really did think I was a goner for a while. Not that "turned into an actual zombie" is the most boring thing to have on your tombstone, but. I'm hoping for something more like "snuggled to death by kittens" or "buried alive under a money avalanche."

[moneyman]

[ yes, indeed. the turntables. he's completely confident in the cure, but he is a tad worried about the potential side effects, even if he's not showing it. no use exacerbating Rhys's anxiety. plus, if it gets bad, he'll totally hold Rhys's hair while he vomits uncontrollably. that's what best friends are for. ]

Custody of me, huh? Psh. [ he waves it off like it's the most ridiculous thing ever. ] I can't just have a backup best friend. Sometimes widows don't re-marry, right? It'd be like that. I'd never be able to fill the Rhys-shaped hole in my heart.

[ he's back to being facetious about it (mostly), but there's still some truth there. "it's you and me forever, bro," Rhys had said to him once, and it really stuck, even if Rhys was exaggerating a bit. their friendship totally transcends death, man. ]

Those are pretty solid causes of death, though. Especially the kittens one. "Here lies Rhys: he never stood a chance." That's how I'd wanna go, honestly. Not quite as crazy about the money avalanche one... I mean, having that much money and not being able to spend it because you're too busy suffocating? That seems unnecessarily cruel. [ a pause, and his voice softens a little. ] Let's not talk about your tombstone too much, though. You're not gonna have one for a long time.

[dbag]

[ Comparing himself finding a new best friend to a widow re-marrying, that's how you know it's real. They are a little bit married, it's fine. He curls up more in his seat, already starting to feel a little ill, which is... good? He hopes?? Presumably, his uneasy stomach means the cure's working. It makes him feel less nervous, but then the realization that he has no idea how bad he's going to feel or for how long dawns on him, and he feels nervous all over again.

But he's trying very hard to ignore all that, or at least pretend to for Vaughn's sake. He does his best to quell his worries, trying to focus just on the immediate present and not the uncertain but possibly puke-filled future. ]

Sometimes I can't believe we don't have tombstones already. I mean— how many dicey situations have we gotten out of? I'm starting to think we're superheroes.

[moneyman]

Superheroes, huh? I like the sound of that. [ superheroes with no powers other than the ability to inexplicably survive countless dangerous situations. cockroach powers, perhaps. ] And now we can add the pseudo-zombie apocalypse to our list. Not a lot of people can say that.

[ yeah, he's pretty proud of them. he does notice Rhys hunching over a bit, though, and he leans over, concerned. ]

Hey, you okay?

[dbag]

[ If there can be a Spider-Man and a Batman, there can be Cockroachmen. With the power to do nothing besides somehow survive anything. He shoots Vaughn a thumbs up — he is hunky dory!! — then changes it to a so-so motion instead as he feels more nausea coming on. ]

Yeah, I just. Wow, I think my stomach might be strangling itself. Is that possible? [ It seems plausible right about now!! ] But on the bright side, I don't want to eat anything? ...Possibly ever.

[moneyman]

[ oh, no. he rests a hand on Rhys's back. it doesn't do anything, of course, but he's trying to be supportive. plus, he feels partially responsible for this, having been the one who vaccinated him and all. it had to happen, but still... ]

God, already? I'm sorry. [ he knew there'd be side effects, but he didn't expect them to hit almost immediately. poor Rhys. ] But uh, no, I... don't think that's possible.

[ there's an awkward pause while he tries to figure out what to say. ]

Do you need me to get—I mean, are you gonna—

[ success. ]