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While everybody knows that zombies do not breed and that they multiply by turning humans into zombies, fiction depicts how this happens incorrectly. You do not simply get infected with a virus and turn into a zombie. Contrary to what is normally believed, zombies do not bite and eat humans to spread a virus. They eat humans because they are a food source. Zombies are intensely hungry. They will eat any edible thing, not just humans. However, they are often too stupid to eat any packaged food, so they prefer to hunt.

Why are zombies so darn hungry?

To understand this, one must understand how a zombie is created. A zombie is created by a normal human taking a certain drug meant to enhance the regenerative functions of the body.

Now understand that the idea of a government doing shady work with a pharmaceutical company to make bioweapons or super soldiers is a fantasy. This was also not created by some drug kingpin trying to make an addicting drug to sell to their customers either. It was a simple mistake made by a group of chemistry PhD students at a major university. They were doing research into the possibility of a drug that can rapidly increase a person’s ability to heal from their wounds.

In their pursuits to make such a drug, they ended up stumbling into a formula that works. After testing it on animals and seeing pronounced success, they were eager to do human trials. However, two major things occurred:

1. Within an hour of ingesting the drug, about half of the participants turned into zombies. While chaos ensued, luckily, the zombies were able to be killed by the police after tons of ammo was pumped into them. Many people were bitten, and many died from their wounds. However, the bites do not transform people into zombies, so only those original few zombies needed to be killed.

After this incident, researchers concluded that if a normal human takes this drug, it can have these side effects since the drug was made improperly. Instead of the body being able to regenerate from injuries with the energy it naturally makes, it requires much more energy. In fact, it requires so much energy, that it simply cuts off the ability for the stomach to feel full. Instead, it makes them feel hungry all the time. Finally, they concluded that to fuel this enormous energy cost, the brain needed to sacrifice much of its cognitive ability so it could conserve energy. That is why zombies are so hungry and why they are dumber than a normal human.

2. The other half of the participants felt fine. Any injuries or illnesses they had were healed. In fact, many of these people exhibited even higher brain functions than they did before being tested. However, since these human trials were all held in one room, many of these people were killed by their zombie counterparts. While they could heal much faster than normal, no amount of speedy recovery can save you from your guts being ripped out and eaten.

(2/6)

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Only two of these normal participants survived. While they do indeed need to eat more than the average person, they can feel full and their brain did not sacrifice cognitive capabilities for energy. Nobody knows why they were fine, but others became zombies. The research was ultimately discontinued, and the researchers went to prison for their careless human experiments.

Even though giving people this drug is the only known way to turn people into a zombie, and even though the research was halted, an outbreak has still occurred. That is why I am telling you about these creatures. The world has been overtaken by these undead monsters.

Your goal is to survive this outbreak. You may discover new bits of information about this outbreak or you may not. Survival is your main objective and never forget that. You will be given 5 characters and 5 chances to survive. Each character has different abilities, traits, personalities, and are all located in different places. All characters can die at a moment’s notice. Characters cannot be revived.

If a character gets transformed into a zombie, you can still make choices for them. However, they cannot be changed back into a human. Becoming a zombie will lock that character out of any ending except for bad endings. Remember, zombie bites do not transform you into a zombie. This is not an infection. Trying to be silly and doing something to get bitten will not allow your character to become a zombie. It will likely just lead to the character getting eaten and dying from their injuries.

You are given the ability to switch characters at any time after you have at least made 3 choices with your current character. When switching, there is a predetermined order that will be done. You cannot choose who you switch to.

There are four types of endings: True Endings, Happy Endings, Okay Endings, and Bad Endings.
(Note that true endings are not necessarily the happiest.)

If 4 characters get an okay ending or better, a sixth character will unlock. If 2 characters get a happy ending, a sixth character will unlock. If 2 characters gets a true ending, the sixth character will unlock. Having a mix of happy and true endings works too if at least 2 characters get them. Finally, there is a hidden item/event in each story. If all 5 characters find the hidden item/see the secret event, the sixth character will unlock regardless of the ending they achieve. There is no way to know if an item or event will be the secret event until I tell you. The sixth character’s story will reveal the whole truth behind this zombie apocalypse. Try your best to unlock this character!

(3/6)

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I will now lay out all five characters and how to get their endings:

1. Jack – A middle-aged, truck driver. He is a no-nonsense man who tells it like it is. He hunts in his spare time and is a good shot. His wife, Jacky, had divorced him because he was not around as much as she wanted. He has partial custody of his child, Lindsey, but Jacky has her this week. He will begin his story while hunting in the wilderness.

Pros:
>can make accurate shots that do not require a dice roll
>the strongest character available
>patient, will be able to hide for long periods of time without getting restless

Cons:
>cannot run for long distances or very fast
>does not do well in groups
>knows little first aid

Jack’s Endings:
True Ending: Find a safe place to survive alone.
Happy Ending: Reunite with Jacky and Lindsey and survive together.
Okay Ending: Reunite with Jacky and Lindsey, but one or both dies. Jack still survives.

2. Sarah – A stay at home mother in her twenties. She is attractive but is a happily married woman. She is a much more traditional woman who lets her husband, John, make most decisions. She dotes on her son, Adam, and makes sure he is ready for the outside world. She will begin her story at home with John at work and Adam at school.

Pros:
>knows basic first aid techniques and always carries a first aid kit with her for her son
>almost always finds the positive side to things, very rarely gets upset or frazzled
>knows how to cook even with the worst ingredients

Cons:
>if choices lead to Adam or John dying, she will be much less effective and will not make the best choices (less good choices will be available), and if both Adam and John die, she will make mostly bad decisions
>relies on John for strength and guidance, so her choices tend to come from the husband if he is still alive (you will still make choices for her, but they will be less varied)
>if John dies, other men will try to make her theirs, even without her consent (since this is a blue board, I will skip to after the fact if this occurs)

Sarah’s Endings:
True Ending: Find a safe place to survive alone. Sarah must not know what happened to John and Adam.
Happy Ending: Reunite with John and Adam and survive together.
Okay Ending: Reunite with John and Adam, but one or both dies. Sarah still survives.

(4/6)

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3. Larry – A retired electrical engineer in his late 70s. He was initially a mechanical engineer for many years, but he switched career paths midway through. His wife passed away a few years ago. but he was able to move on with his life. He is starting to feel the effects of age, but he still has some hop in his step. He knows a lot about the inner workings of computers and other devices. Larry will start his story on a cruise ship.

Pros:
>can fix many broken machines
>wise, knows many neat tricks and will tend not to make hasty decisions
>elderly, people are less likely to accuse him of lying or force him to do hard tasks in a group

Cons:
>slow running speed and low stamina
>looters and other undesirables will view him as an easy target and will more frequently try to rob him
>cannot hide for long periods of time without cramping

Larry’s Endings:
True Ending: Find a way back to land and find a safe place to survive.
Happy Ending: Fully repair the cruise ship with the crew and live safely on it.
Okay Ending: Intend to stay on the cruise ship, but all the crew has died, so full repairs are impossible.


4. Stacy – A third year college student who is studying nursing. She is the type to party very often and has had many boyfriends. She does currently have a boyfriend, named Boyfriend, but is not very loyal. She has a few close friends but knows nearly everybody in her graduating class. She tends to exercise at the gym in her spare time. Stacy will begin her story at in a classroom.

Pros:
>has the most in-depth medical knowledge of any character and knows some complicated procedures
>a social butterfly and can get along with nearly anybody with ease and can even seduce someone for supplies or favors
>can run for long periods of time without getting tired and can run quite fast

Cons:
>she is prone to gossiping and this can cause some people to dislike her (if someone catches her gossiping about them, bad things can happen)
>not loyal, if her boyfriend is alive and finds out she seduced another man, he will become an enemy
>attractive, even if her boyfriend is alive, looters and other baddies may try to take her away to do bad things (since this is a blue board, I will skip to after the fact if this occurs)

Stacy’s Endings:
True Ending: Find a group to survive with safely, and ditch Boyfriend for another man. Boyfriend can be in the group or he can die.
Happy Ending: Find a group to survive with safely. Plus, Boyfriend and one university friend must survive, and Stacy cannot cheat on Boyfriend.
Okay Ending: Find a group to survive with safely. Plus, Boyfriend and one university friend must survive, and Stacy can have cheated on Boyfriend without him knowing.

(5/6)

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5. Kyle – He’s a janitor on an anime image board. He dropped out of college and has no job that pays. He is morbidly obese but can still walk around and do normal things. He is single, but he does have a waifu. He has basic programming and computer skills, but nothing too complex. He lives with his parents, but they are on vacation. Kyle will begin his story in his parents’ basement.

Pros:
>he could resolve basic software issues on any computer
>already has a step-by-step zombie apocalypse plan, so he is prepared with a stockpile of food and water
>owns an impressive gun, sword, and knife collection and would not need to roll any dice to shoot accurately

Cons:
>impatience, he will not be able to handle waiting even a little bit without getting bored
>slowest and worst stamina out of any character
>if a woman tried to seduce him, you would need a perfect dice roll to keep him from falling victim to her charms
>bad social skills, he tends to misread the atmosphere and makes people cringe. Groups may try to abandon him
>obesity, he eats more than your average person. He needs to eat more often than other characters.

Kyle’s Endings:
True Ending: Find a place to survive alone. Must bring his waifu’s body pillow with him.
Happy Ending: Find a place to survive with parents. Must bring his waifu’s body pillow with him.
Okay Ending: Find a place to survive with parents. However, his waifu’s body pillow must either have been left behind or destroyed.


Now please choose a starting character:
>Jack
>Sarah
>Larry
>Stacy
>Kyle


Since choosing your starting character is a very important decision, I will make the voting window 6 hours or until we reach 9 responses, whichever comes first. If there is a tie, priority will go to the character higher up on the list. For example, Sarah would take priority over Kyle.

(6/6)

>>4541469

Jack

>>4541469
>Kyle
Bet my main man Kyle has a zombie waifu

>>4541464
>Jack

>>4541469
>Kyle

>>4541469
>Kyle

>>4541469
>Kyle

>>4541469
>>Jack

>>4541469
>>Jack

>>4541469
C'mon KYLE

>>4541469
>Jack

>>4541476
>>4541546
>>4541601
>>4541620
>>4541634
5 votes for Kyle.

>>4541475
>>4541484
>>4541623
>>4541629
4 votes for Jack.

This means that we will begin our quest with Kyle and Jack will go second. Remember that you can switch to Jack after 3 decisions made as Kyle, so we can potentially start Jack's story pretty soon, so don't worry if your chosen character didn't go first!

Since none of the other characters got any votes, I would like to do one more vote to decide on the order of the last three characters. Please vote for one of these three:
>Sarah
>Larry
>Stacy

While not as important as the last choice, it is still important to decide the order of all of our characters. Therefore, I will set the voting window to two hours or a minimum of 5 votes, whichever comes first. As before, ties will let the character higher on the list take priority. For example, Sarah has a higher priority than Stacy.

>>4541648
>Larry

>>4541648
>Sarah

>>4541648
>Larry

>>4541648
>Sarah

>>4541648
>Sarah

While we have hit the 5 vote minimum, I am finishing up Kyle's first choice, so I will let 30 minutes more of voting on this. So far, it is 3 votes for Sarah and 2 for Larry.

>>4541648
>Stacy
From OP's description of the zombies, I believe the outbreak started from something in the water supply. I would suggest that all MCs avoid using tap water and drink bottled water only.

Alright, votes are closed!

>>4541675
>>4541688
>>4541694
3 votes for Sarah

>>4541658
>>4541684
2 votes for Larry

>>4541736
1 vote for Stacy.

The final character order is Kyle, Jack, Sarah, Larry, and lastly Stacy. Once again, please remember that we can choose to switch characters after 3 decisions, so do not worry if your favorite didn't go first!

Kyle's start is ready and will be posted right after this post.

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After Kyle’s father, James, was promoted to the Chief of Police, they were able to move into a luxurious, gated community quite easily. Kyle’s mother, Mary, is a professor at the local university. She recently received tenure and is doing well for herself. While Kyle’s family isn’t rich, they are much more well-off than the average family. They were even able to afford a private tennis court, a private home gym, and a home theater!

However, even with all these luxuries and all these things to do, Kyle does not do anything more than stay in the basement. Even though he can have any kind of food he desires, he tends to only eat junk food. Even though Kyle can get as much exercise as he wants for free, all he does is sit around.

He once tried college, but when he realized a Computer Science degree wasn’t just about making video games, he dropped out. He also does not want to work since he views customers, coworkers, and managers as annoying people.

His one claim to “fame” was that one of his friends on Discord was able to get him a janitor position on 4chan. Apparently, one of his friends was a senior moderator, so they let him choose any 5 boards he wanted to be a janitor in. He chose /a/, /v/, /jp/, /tg/, and /qst/. However, Kyle has a major temper online, so he tends to get mad when someone posts something he doesn’t like.

Kyle’s life revolves around waking up at 4pm, microwaving hot pockets and pouring some chocolate milk, catching up on his anime backlog, browsing each of the boards he frequents, making sure to remove at least 10 posts an hour that he doesn’t like, and then falling asleep in his gamer chair. Right before he falls asleep, Kyle makes sure to cuddle with his body pillow of his waifu and give it a kiss.

His room is adorned with a wide weapon collection, lots of canned food, 5 refrigerators and freezers packed with his favorite foods, and enough water to survive with for half a year. After the news story broke a month ago about the failed human experiments that lead to zombies, he started to prepare. He often has fantasies about killing a whole horde of zombies to save a hot girl.

Today was a start like any other, waking up at 4pm and going upstairs to get some hot pockets, deciding to shower another day, and as he was descending the stairs into the basement, he thought he saw some shadows move behind the blinds in the kitchen. It could just be some birds or something, but he has been paranoid about zombies for a month straight, so you cannot be too careful.

>Open the blinds
>Slightly peek behind the blinds
>Go back to the basement

There will be no write-ins this early-on. Once the stories pick up a bit, then we can. Also, on normal decisions like these, the standard will be a 1-hour voting window. There is no set number of votes needed. And the normal tie-breaking rules apply. I’ll always say if I need to take an extended break and will always let you know approximately when I will get back.

>>4541744
>>Slightly peek behind the blinds

>>4541744
>Slightly peek behind the blinds

>>4541744
>Slightly peek behind the blinds
Let's be cautious and make sure the legend lives

>>4541744
>>Slightly peek behind the blinds

No more votes!

>>4541748
>>4541799
>>4541806
>>4541813
4 votes for "Slightly peek behind the blinds".

I will be writing out the prompt as soon as I can!

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(Please note that any images used are for illustrative purposes and are not always 100% accurate. The text is what you should listen to.)

Kyle decides that there is nothing wrong with being careful, so he decides to set his plate of hot pockets down just to take a bit of a peek around the blinds. Well he was half right, there is a bird. However, he sees a man in his front yard holding what seems to be a pigeon. It looks like he is trying to eat it.

Kyle gets away from the window.

Many thoughts running through his mind. Is this the dreaded zombie apocalypse? Is this just some crazy homeless guy? Kyle has had many instances in the past month that he has confused a crazy, drug-addicted, hobo as a zombie. His father had to bail him out for pointing a gun at one last time.

Kyle also wishes his parents weren’t on vacation so they could take care of it. His father could have cops here as quickly as a snap of his fingers. “Well, maybe they would come quickly for me. I am his son; they should do what I want too! They owe it to me.” Kyle thought.

So, he whips out his trusty Samsung Galaxy S10 and starts dialing 911. However, a worrying thought came over him. “This is a gated community... The homeless wouldn’t be able to get in without climbing the gate.” Not only that, Kyle’s gated community is well-known for building their gates taller than most. They tower at 20 feet (6.1 meters).

“Maybe someone felt bad and let him in? Maybe someone left the gate open for too long?” Kyle hesitated for a long while. If this was in-fact a homeless man, it would be in his best interests to call the police. But if this was indeed a zombie, even if he could get ahold of the police, they could just lead more zombies into the community.

But on the other hand, the police could dispatch zombies much better than he could. Kyle remembered the footage he watched from a month ago when the police were able to kill all the zombies from that experiment.

One thing is for sure, it’s a good idea he didn’t just open the blinds.

After thinking over this for a while, Kyle suddenly received a Discord message notification on his phone. He couldn’t read all of it before the notification disappeared, but it seemed urgent.

What should Kyle do?
>Call the police. If he is homeless, they can handle it. If it is a zombie, they can kill it
>Don’t call the police. If it is a zombie, that means many more could show up while the police open the gates.
>Figure this all out after reading the urgent Discord Messages

Finally, I want to remind everybody that you need to treat each choice as if it could be your last. Death can come quickly in this quest, and the bad choices will not be so obvious. While not every list of choices will have a death included, many will. Zombies are also not the only way to die. This is the first choice in this quest that has a death in it. I will give one warning per character when a death is possible. But after that warning, you are on your own.

>>4541834
>Call the police. If he is homeless, they can handle it. If it is a zombie, they can kill it

>>4541834
>Don’t call the police. If it is a zombie, that means many more could show up while the police open the gates.
The zombie is preoccupied with a pigeon. If they get the gate open, zombies flooding in is a major problem.

>>4541834
>Call the police. If he is homeless, they can handle it. If it is a zombie, they can kill it
If there are more zombies at the door, the police will take care of those first. While we call the police, we should go back to our command center in the basement.

Voting is over!

>>4541836
>>4541853
2 votes for "Call the police. If he is homeless, they can handle it. If it is a zombie, they can kill it"

>>4541843
1 vote for "Don’t call the police. If it is a zombie, that means many more could show up while the police open the gates."

I will write this out now.

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"Regardless of anything, the only smart thing to do would be to call the police. I can trust them to resolve this situation." Kyle thought. After dialing the number, it connects normally.

“911, where is your emergency?”

“I live in the Cottage Grove Residential Community, 323 Alton Drive. There is a gate, the code is #4121. I am the son of James, the police chief. Come immediately!”

“Sir, are you in a safe location? There has been a large uptick in violence today. You need to make sure you are safe.”

“I think I’m in a safe place, the guy outside didn’t see me. There is some crazy man standing right on my front lawn eating a bird. But I’m worried that this is a zombie, like from those news reports last month.”

“We will send officers to your location, for now I need you to make sure you are not in any danger. Do not go outside. Do you have a room in your house with a sturdy door and lock?”

“Yeah, I’ll go there now- “ Bang There is a loud sound coming from the window, and there is a long shadow looming from it.

Suddenly, Kyle hears a voice. “Please, you gotta help me man. There are monsters out here. You’re there right?”

The 911 operator speaks again, “Sir, is there someone there? Do not let him inside. The police are on their way. They will help him.”

While less than a few minutes had passed since calling 911, it felt like an eternity with this man banging on the window and the operator trying to talk to Kyle.

Kyle was jerked away from his trance when another shadow approached the man banging on the window. Whatever it was, it tackled him and he started crying in pain. He could see small spurts of blood hit the corners of the window, where the blinds do not cover.
Kyle felt bad for him, but he had his own survival to worry about. He moved to another room to continue his conversation with the operator. However, Kyle made a crucial mistake. He left the freshly microwaved hot pockets on the table next to the window.

One of the things outside must have smelled it because more pounding, much fiercer than before, started against the kitchen window. Cracks were starting to appear on the window. It is going to give at any moment.

However, just as it looked like one of those things was going to break through, the sound of sirens could be heard close by. The gate is opened, the police pull in with full riot gear, and someone shouts on a megaphone “get away from the window or we will shoot.”

It looks like calling the police had been a good call. By the sounds of it, there are 3 zombies outside. If one broke in because it smelled food, the other two would have tried as well.

The police start gunning them down with relative ease since there are 8 officers all pumping what must be 20 shotgun shells into the trio of zombies.

Kyle lets the operator know the police have arrived and hangs up. The coast seems to be clear outside.

>Go outside to greet the police.
>Stay indoors and let them come to you.

This next decision is what you can call a "pivotal choice". This is when each decision will greatly affect the outcome of the story and will branch out considerably from here. Don't take this choice lightly. Once again, I will only give this kind of warning once per character.

>>4541974
>Stay indoors and let them come to you.
Don't want to get shot by accident.
also
>if a woman tried to seduce him, you would need a perfect dice roll to keep him from falling victim to her charms
Kyle really is the greatest of faggots, imagine calling yourself a waifufag but still wanting to fuck 3D

>>4541974
>Stay indoors and let them come to you.

>>4541974
>Stay indoors and let them come to you.

No more votes!

>>4541988
>>4541995
>>4541999
3 votes for "Stay indoors and let them come to you."

Halfway through writing the next one.

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Kyle is still cautious about going outside, so he stays indoors. He is not very good around people, so he doesn’t feel comfortable just going to greet them. Even through all of this, he is still nervous of embarrassing himself.

There is a knock on the door. “Is anybody home? This is the police, and we received a call from this number. It is dangerous outside, can we come in?” The voice sounded ragged, as if the person behind the door is exhausted after a long day. Well it is about 5pm now, so it probably is the end of the day for these officers.

Kyle let’s all 8 officers in. They scan the house. Though there are many rooms and exits, the coast is clear.

Sergeant Hughes starts questioning Kyle. After being sure Kyle is alright, he asks “Why are you still in your home? There was an order for everybody to come to the police station. It has been boarded up and is safe.” He also peers down to look at Kyle’s shirt since it was standing out a lot. It was a Madoka Magica T-shirt that was one size too small. “What the hell of you wearing? Do you know what kind of situation we’re in?”

“Er... um... Well, I just got up. Oh, and this? It’s my favorite shirt. It’s from Puella Magi Madoka Magica. haven’t you heard of it?” Kyle clearly unable to read the room and caused a displeased sigh coming from one of the officers in the other room.

“Out of all the people we could have saved, this is what we get?” Hughes thought to himself. “Well, the important thing is that you are okay. You should come with us to the police station, you will be safe there. Bring anything that you think would be useful and any food and water you have,”

Kyle informs the officers of his stash of food and weapons in the basement.

“Well, I’ll be damned. Were you preparing for a zombie apocalypse or something, kid?” One of the other officers in the group asked.

“Y...Yeah.” Kyle said with a tint of redness in his face. He is clearly embarrassed and out of his element here.

“Anyway, we will start bringing all the food, water, and weapons to the car. Please change your clothes into something that fits you and feel free to grab a few more things before you go. Don’t take too long, we need to get going. If you take to long, we will need to pull you out.”

Kyle begrudgingly changes out of his favorite shirt and instead puts on another favorite: his Hatsune Miku 2018 concert t-shirt. This one fits much better.

Kyle is now going to be leaving with the police officers. He can take 3 things with him. You have also unlocked the ability to switch characters at any time. Simply choose that option as a choice and we will go to the next character. After we have went through 3 choices with each character, we can switch back to Kyle. Use this if you are getting bored with the current story or if you cannot decide on a choice. Plus, when we come back to Kyle, I will save all the votes for the other options.

(1/2)

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For example: If 4 people vote to switch character, but 3 chose to take items, I will tally how many voted for this and which items they took. This will count for the total the next time we are at this point. We will eventually be coming back to this choice, so your input will be recorded for fairness.

Again, I want to stress that if we switch, we must make 3 choices with the next character at least before we can switch again.

>Take items
>Switch character

If you select “Take items”, you must select three of the items of the five below:

1. Kyle’s Body Pillow – A flavor of the month girl on it. He swears up and down that he loves her, yet, he also wants a girlfriend. Not the most dedicated man. However, this is a necessary item for the True and Happy endings.


2. Bag of Weed – Yes, Kyle secretly smokes pot. This can be used to calm his nerves, or he could bribe someone with it down the line. Kyle will never need to roll a dice in a social situation if he uses this. Normally, you will need to roll when making a choice in a group because Kyle is bad in groups.

3. Suspicious package – There is a package that was on our front doorstep today. Did the mail really come on a day like this? It could be important.

4. Parents’ Note – They left him a note on the counter letting him know where they are vacationing. He never read it, but it could be needed to find them. (note: Kyle’s parents are old fashioned and do not own cellphones and would instead use a number from their resort. This would be on the note as well.)

5. Parents’ Flash Drive – His parents’, especially his father, have a lot of connections. This flash drive has a record of the people he is in normal contact with. Kyle could contact the people on this flash drive if he needs help.

(2/2)

I am going to head to bed. Feel free to vote on this until I come back. I will be back at around 3pm PST (about 15 hours from now).

>>4542041
>Take items
1. Kyle’s Body Pillow
3. Suspicious package
4. Parents’ Note

I think we should switch characters after this decision

>>4542041
>Kyle’s Body Pillow
Would it count as destroyed if we take the stuffing out and fold the cover for portability? Can we justify it as putting our waifu into safe suspended animation?
>Suspicious package
>Parents’ Flash Drive

>>4542056
+1
Parents are short-lived troublesome mortals, by now they must be deferred. But their work must not die with them. Take the drive. The package seems canon in our history, It may contain just those doujinshi we asked for on that suspicious page. And the waifu is the waifu, so we must die we must guarantee its survival. We must also ensure that we are in the same patrol as her and are escorted at all times.

>body pillow
>note
>flash drive
would like to switch characters after this so that we can get some experience on the other ones before we accidentally kill this one
>>4542056
yeah, I would like to figure out exactly what 'destroyed' means
if the inner pillow suddenly combusts, is it fine as long as we have the cover?
if we do need both pieces, what if the inner pillow got destroyed? Would replacing it with any long pillow 'fix' it? Does it have to be exactly the right length or will the shitty 150cms where the feet just hang off the end work?

>>4542052
Seconded. I say we switch to Larry.

>>4542041
>Body pillow
>Package
>Note

>>4542115
The order of characters was determined. It is Kyle, Jack, Sarah, Larry, Stacy.

>>4542041
>Take items
body pillow
note
flash drive

>>4542041
>Kyle’s Body Pillow

>Parents’ Note

>Suspicious package

>>4542039
>>4542041
>the police are looting our home
I fucking told you guys.
>>4542056
Backing. We can't let harm come to our waifu.

>>4542306
It isn't looting if they loot us with they (?). We gonna use some of our resources and some of they. But I have serious worries of staying in a police station in a zombie apocalypse. Maybe we gonna need to kill everyone else in the way of keep our waifu safe.

File: Shapiro Khazar milkies.jpg (399 KB, 2896x2896)

399 KB JPG

don't mind me just posting some Sarah

>>4542450
>some of they
Bruh we're an antisocial glutton. Strict rationing in a tense police environment is the worst situation possible.

>>4542041
>1. Kyle’s Body Pillow
>3. Suspicious Package
>5. Flash drive

No more votes!


Everyone votes to take items, so that is what we will do. Everyone also voted to take Kyle's body pillow, so we will take that.

>>4542052
>>4542115
>>4542129
>>4542056
>>4542096
>>4542154
>>4542535
7 votes for taking the suspicious package.

>>4542052
>>4542115
>>4542129
>>4542113
>>4542150
>>4542154
6 votes for taking the parents' note.

>>4542056
>>4542096
>>4542113
>>4542150
>>4542535
5 votes for taking the flash drive.

Therefore, we will take Kyle's Body Pillow, the Suspicious Package, and the Parents' note. I will finish my next post shortly.

>>4542056
>>4542113
Unfortunately, Kyle will not come across another pillow as a substitute, so he will have to keep the pillow intact. While it is cumbersome now, eventually, Kyle may find a certain item to make it easier to carry.

File: Kyle's Escort.jpg (267 KB, 1998x636)

267 KB JPG

While scrambling to find everything he wanted to take, Kyle could only take his body pillow, the suspicious package, and the note his parents left him. Things were starting to get bad again outside. The officers had left the gate open when they came to assist Kyle, so small numbers of zombies were coming in.

“Come on, hurry! They are getting closer” one of the officers shouted from one of the squad cars. There were 2 normal police cars and 1 SWAT car.

Kyle was escorted to the SWAT car and safely found a seat. Once everyone was in their respective vehicles, they started driving to the police station. The layout is as follows:

SWAT Vehicle: Sergeant Hughes and Officer Chambers are in the front seats. Officers Grant and Smith accompany Kyle in the back.

Police Cruiser #1: Officers Hayes and McDonald are in the front seats.

Police Cruiser #2: Officers Johnson and Evans are in the front seats.

The Police Cruiser #1 is in the front of the convoy, the SWAT Vehicle is in the middle, the Police Cruiser #2 is in the back.

Grant strikes up a conversation with Kyle. “What is that? Is that a cartoon girl on a pillow? Why would you take that with you?”

After just being in the most stressful situations of his life, Kyle would now have to explain what waifuism is to a complete normalfag. He has no idea what to do. He is starting to shake, he is so nervous. Finally, he can stammer out, “W-well, this has a lot of sentimental value to me. She is not just s-some cartoon girl. I fell in love with her and this is my way of feeling connected to her.”

Grant starts laughing, and is about to tease Kyle for his weirdness, but is interrupted by Smith. Smith casually pulls grant to the side and whispers in his ear, “You don’t want to mess with this kid, Grant. He had hundreds of weapons in his room. He could snap and try to steal one of our weapons if we mock him too much. Plus, he is the Chief’s son. Once all this blows over, we could be in major trouble if he snitches. So, keep your fucking mouth shut. I need this job and don’t want to be fired because of you.”

Smith is much more imposing and more senior than Grant, so Grant agreed to not mess with Kyle anymore.

Silence overcame the convoy. There wasn’t much anybody wanted to talk about. Since Kyle is in the back of the SWAT car, he couldn’t see much of the outside, but he wouldn’t want to anyway. It must be a gruesome sight to behold.

However, Kyle is getting a bit bored. He wants to do something to keep himself occupied. What should Kyle do on the ride? Whatever he does, the officers will be able to see.

>Kyle never read those urgent Discord messages, he could read them now
>Read the parents’ letter
>Open the suspicious package
>Switch characters

>>4542790
>Kyle never read those urgent Discord messages, he could read them now

>>4542790
>Kyle never read those urgent Discord messages, he could read them now
It's out of left field, which makes me think it's a good idea.

>>4542790
>Kyle never read those urgent Discord messages, he could read them now
sounds good to me
"Open the suspicious package"
no Kyle, don't open your loli doujins in the car

Voting is over!


>>4542800
>>4542818
>>4542850
3 votes for "Kyle never read those urgent Discord messages, he could read them now"

Almost done writing!

File: Kyle's Discord Messages.png (304 KB, 1341x833)

304 KB PNG

Kyle decides that now would be a good time to check those seemingly urgent Discord messages he received earlier.

Apparently, those messages were sent by his childhood friend, Kevin. Kyle had just finished raiding with Kevin in WoW the prior night, so it was weird to get another set of messages so soon.

“Dude, are keeping up with the news? It seems like something happened. /pol/ is going absolutely nuts right now.”
Today at 7:03 AM

“Shit, it looks like there is an evacuation order. gonna go with my senpai now. Stay safe. Let me know if you make it.”
Today at 10:21 AM

“It looks like we’re going to make it just fine. We are in the back of a SWAT car en route the the police station. Are you still alive, man? I’m getting worried...”
Today at 2:58

“If you are still alive, PLEASE READ THIS!!! We got to the police station a little over an hour ago. But something was off about it. Where was everybody? We were all told to come here. They told us that the police built a long tunnel of housing in the basement in case of a dire emergency. However, I needed to take a leak, so I used the bathroom on the first floor while my family went to the basement. When I was finished and stepped out, I heard loud screams coming from downstairs. It wasn’t your normal screaming; this was the cry of dying people.

I had no idea what to do, and the officer tasked with keeping watch over me in the bathroom grabbed me by the arm to bring me downstairs. I panicked, so I kicked the officer in the groin so he would loosen his grip and ran away. I’m currently hiding in the bushes about a block away. They are looking for me, Kyle.

I’m going to try to run to your place. You have a lot of places to hide in that fucking mansion of yours. You’ll know when I’m there. I will pound on the doors and windows to get your attention, in case you’re still asleep.”
Today at 3:52 PM

“I’M HERE, OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!!!!”
Today at 4:25 PM

“I CAN SEE THE LIGHTS ON, OPEN UP. PLEASE!!!”
Today at 4:27

That was the end of the Discord messages Kyle received.

(1/2)

A wave of emotions hit Kyle at once. “The man that was banging on the window... That was Kevin? No, it can’t be... My best friend...” Kyle’s eyes start to water up and he starts to cry. He cries into his body pillow loudly. She was his one comfort in life. He needed her more than ever right now.

Grant and Smith look at Kyle with a bit of confusion, but this isn’t the first time something like this has happened today. Many people have lost their loved ones, so it is only natural that they cry.

After a few minutes, Kyle finally realized the situation he was in. Can he really trust these men? He thinks to himself that he should have realized it sooner. Afterall, the cops came extremely quickly on such a busy day like this. He just thought being the Chief’s son made them want to come quicker.

“I have no idea what is going on, but I want no part of it” Kyle thinks to himself.

But what can he do? There is no way he could take all these trained, armed officers on.

“Wait a minute,” Kyle thought, “this isn’t the way to the police station.” While Kyle couldn’t see much outside of the car, he could see a bit. Were they not taking him where they took Kevin? Or do they have multiple locations to do whatever they were doing in that basement?

>It’s too risky to try anything now. I will come up with something when we get there
>Pretend to need to go the bathroom really badly and try to escape while outside
>Switch characters

(2/2)

>>4542880
>It’s too risky to try anything now. I will come up with something when we get there
Lmao we just doomed Kyle. Let's just go all the way so the next characters can learn and have a chance to survive.

>>4542880
>Pretend to need to go the bathroom really badly and try to escape while outside
>Switch characters
well, fuck

>>4542908
Can you clarify which one you are voting for? Only one vote per poster.

>>4542910
My bad, I thought we voted on the current choice and whether to switch characters separately.
>Switch characters

>>4542913
That's okay! It is a very unique system. Think of switching characters as a separate choice from the others. If the majority vote for it, we will come back to it later. When we come back to this choice later, the posters who did not vote for the switching will keep their original votes cast. Maybe that was a bit confusing, I probably could have initially explained it better.

I'm going to allow another hour to vote.

>>4542908
1 vote for "It’s too risky to try anything now. I will come up with something when we get there"

>>4542913
1 vote for "Switch characters"

The way this quest handles ties is very unique. In a tie, the choice that was higher on the list will be picked. There will be no dice rolls for ties.

Since this is a different system than many are used to, I want to increase the time to vote a bit longer to make sure people can get their say in.

>>4542880
>Switch characters

No more voting!

>>4542975
>>4542913
Two votes to "Switch Characters"

>>4542891
One vote for "It’s too risky to try anything now. I will come up with something when we get there"

Therefore, we will switch to Jack. I will write his intro now!

File: Jack's Kill.jpg (4.47 MB, 2992x2400)

4.47 MB JPG

7:00 AM, in the wilderness. It is a peaceful day. All that can be heard is the sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling in the wind.

Jack lies in the grass, hiding behind the thick bushes. His hunting rifle peeks out from the bushes. Jack is a skilled hunter and is trying to hunt some big-game to impress his daughter, Lindsey. Her birthday is tomorrow, so Jack wanted to surprise her with some deer-skinned boots. Lindsey was always proud of her dad when he was able to score some cool kills since he always made cool things with it and could make some unique food.

During the week, Jack is a truck driver for one of the larger companies in the country. He sometimes takes Lindsey on his shorter journeys and she always loves watching the scenery. However, he is divorced from his wife, Jacky. It was an amicable divorce with no hard feelings. They were just growing apart. However, they wanted to make sure their daughter got to see them both often.

Jack has put on a little bit of weight, but only a little. He tends to take care of himself. However, there is only so much a middle-aged man can do when he sits in a car all day and can pretty much only eat at pitstops with fatty foods.

Suddenly, Jack finds what he has been looking for. He sees a doe and a buck just 40 feet (12.2 meters) away. Jack adjusts the scope of his rifle, adjusts his positioning, and fires.

Score! He hit the buck right in the neck. It falls over, bleeding intensely. Jack doesn’t need anymore, so he lets the doe run away.

This went much better than he expected. Now he can also make a cool ornament to hang on the wall. Those antlers are some of the best he’s ever seen!

Jack calls out to his friend, Austin, who was helping him because they go back a long way. However, to be safe, they always wear their reflective hunting vests, so no accidents occur. Safety first!

“Austin, I got one! Get over here and help me bring this buck to the truck!”

No response. Well, they were relatively far apart, plus, they wear noise canceling headphones to damper the loud gunshots. However, Austin is at a vantage point where he should be able to see Jack. So, he is probably packing up some of the gear and just hasn’t taken off his headphones yet.

Jack decides to pack up and head to the car so he will have free hands to lift the buck with Austin. After unlocking the door with a click click, Jack unloads all his hunting equipment including the rifle.

Jack then starts walking towards Austin’s vantage point.

However, Jack hears a blood curdling scream from the opposite side of the forest. By his guess, it would be about 100 feet (30.5 meters) behind him. Austin’s vantage point is about 50 feet (15.2 meters) in front of Jack. His cell phone also works, even in the forest.

What should Jack do?

>Call the police
>Head towards the scream
>Head towards Austin’s spot

This has 2 sets of choices. The one above and the one below. Choose one from each!

>grab your gun
>don’t grab your gun

>>4543089
>Head towards the scream
>grab your gun

Can't we ring the phone too so we have an idea where Austin is?

>>4543099

+1

No more voting!

>>4543099
>>4543133
2 votes for "Head towards the scream" and 2 votes for "grab your gun"

>Can't we ring the phone too so we have an idea where Austin is
While we are not deep enough in any story for me to allow any write-ins, this is actually something I think any reasonable person, especially Jack, would do. So I will include this in the story.

The reason why I do not allow write-ins normally is because this story is actually riddled with bad ends. You guys have just been making good choices thus far (there have been 3 choices thus far that would have lead to bad ends). However, write-ins increase the chance of death by a lot, and I think a lot of people would hate to lose all of their progress with a character because of one silly write-in. However, this was a really good idea, so I will include it.

Will work on this now!

File: What Jack Saw.jpg (31 KB, 443x234)

31 KB JPG

“What the heck was that?” Jack thought, as he turned around to his car to pick up his gun. While this scream was worrying, he also wanted to tell Austin where he is going and asking if he is okay. One thing Jack has learned in his years is that it is better to be safe than sorry.

Jack pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Austin.

“Jack, what a shot! I’m just packing up here, I can help you get him in a minute or two.”

“Thanks, but there is something more important goin’ on. There’s this scream that came from the woods across from the truck. I’m gonna grab my gun and run over there. You go to the truck in case we need to get out fast.”

“Shit, that sounds serious. Should I call the police?”

“Nah, man. They would take too long to do any real help, and it would be faster to take whoever it is to the hospital from the truck. Besides, there’s always college kids filming movies or pranking each other out here. I want to see if it’s serious first. Talk to you later.”

“Wait-“

Jack hangs up and slides his phone back in his pocket. Jack, with his gun in hand, starts venturing to where the sound originated from.

Jack yells, “Is there anybody out here? Who was screaming? I’m coming to help you.”

No response as Jack gets closer and closer.

“I said is there anybody out here? I am here to help you!”

“H...elp...me...” The voice was faint, if he farther away, Jack would have never heard it.

“I’m here. Are you okay?” Jack asks while trying to navigate through the thick shrubbery.

After getting to a more open part of the forest, Jack sees a gruesome sight. A bear or maybe some wolves must have gotten to him. His internal organs were all coming, his jaw was gone, there were scratch marks all over, and even of his eyes was gone. He is barely conscious and can hardly speak. Jack could barely keep himself from throwing up.

There is no way Jack can help this man. He needs to call the paramedics and the police. But before he could, the dying man says his last words.

“Be...hind...you...”

Jack quickly turns around and sees a somehow more disturbing sight. A man is kneeled over chewing on the innards of a young woman. Jack is trembling and he remembers the news reports from the month prior. Is this an actual zombie? “But they were all killed,” Jack thought. But that doesn’t matter because he is seeing one right now, so there must be more.

It seems preoccupied with eating her organs. Regardless, it is not safe here and the man and women are not able to be saved. They are too long injured.

What should Jack do?
>Shoot the zombie in the head. There is no telling what could happen if Jack turns his back on it.
>Run away. Who knows how many of these things are in this forest? This could attract them.

Jack requires no dice rolls when making a shot since he is very accurate. Jack also has 10 rounds on him.

As promised, I want to warn you that Jack can die from the result of your choice here. This will be the only warning given for Jack.

That's going to it for me today. I will be back tomorrow at around 12pm PST (around 13 hours from now.)

>>4543190
>>Shoot the zombie in the head. There is no telling what could happen if Jack turns his back on it.

>>4543192
Man, I'm really tired. 12pm is about 15 hours away. That's when I will be back. Sorry about that mistake.

>>4543190
>Run away. Who knows how many of these things are in this forest? This could attract them.
nope nope nope

>>4543190
>Run away. Who knows how many of these things are in this forest? This could attract them.

>>4543190
>>Run away. Who knows how many of these things are in this forest? This could attract them.
something about the 2 dead people smells like bad news

Voting is over!

>>4543207
>>4543344
>>4543453
3 votes for "Run away. Who knows how many of these things are in this forest? This could attract them."

>>4543200
1 vote for "Shoot the zombie in the head. There is no telling what could happen if Jack turns his back on it."

Writing it out now!

File: Jack Looked Back.jpg (83 KB, 852x480)

83 KB JPG

The zombie seems preoccupied with its victim and Jack is worried that he will attract more with a gunshot. He decides to run away.

The thick foliage that was in his way before is really becoming a nuisance. It is hard to navigate through when under pressure. Suddenly, Jack hears loud sounds behind him. This causes him to jerk his head back to see what is going on.

Jack can see multiple zombies, what must be at least 5 in number, who seem to want to eat the remains of those two dead people. However, the one zombie Jack saw earlier looks to be trying to defend its food from the others.

“What in the world?” Jack thought. They could clearly see him but were more fixated on the corpses than him. “Maybe they prefer easier prey?”

Zombies are fixated on food. They do not care where it comes from since they need to calm their never-ending need for food. Why work harder to catch live food when a dead body is much easier? This is perhaps one of the most important lessons to learn from this story. Forget about prior zombie knowledge and only utilize knowledge gleamed from the real world, this quest.

Zombies are selfish creatures, they will never give up their food to share with another. They would rather die.

As the one zombie fights desperately to not lose its food to the others, Jack takes this time to navigate out the forest.

After finally making it back to the truck, he can see Austin waiting in the car who is a bit confused.

“What happened? Did you find who was screaming?”

Jack tells Austin what happened.

“Shit, we need to get out of here!”

“Hold on,” Jack said. “Remember the buck I killed? If we bring it back to the truck, we could use it to keep zombies away from us if we get in a pickle later. They seem to prefer dead food than live food.”

“Man, I know you mean well. But that sounds like a dangerous idea. You’re risking our lives for just a theory we don’t even know is true! They may have just not seen you before. You ever thought of that?”

“No, they could clearly see me. Look, it’s not something I want to fight about. We either do it or we don’t.”

What should the pair do?
>Get the buck and go back to the truck. They will make sure to bring their guns with them.
>Drive away without the buck. It’s too dangerous to go back in the forest.

This is a pivotal moment, like I explained in Kyle’s story. I don’t think I explained it super well before, so let me explain this now. None of these decisions will lead to a bad ending. However, each choice will drastically change what occurs during the story. You will be locking yourself out of certain endings with each choice. One choice will lock you out of the true ending and one choice will lock you out of the happy and okay endings.

This is the only warning I will give for this in Jack’s story.

Finally, I am going to leave this voting window open until about 5pm PST (about 4 hours from now).

>>4543708
What the hell are we supposed to base our choice on? How is a buck in a forest connected to the endings? I can see several ways for any of the options to be the bad one. Is this that type of situation where you have to play through multiple times to find the correct sequence of choices? We can't reload a save though.

I'm going to be meta then. Jack's best ending involves reuniting with his ex-wife and daughter, so let's work towards doing this as soon as possible.
>Drive away without the buck. It’s too dangerous to go back in the forest.

>>4543708
>Get the buck and go back to the truck. They will make sure to bring their guns with them.
Think this one will lock the true ending out but allow for a happy ending

>>4543730
Why do you think so?

>>4543728
The way I see it we might be forced to leave our family behind if we do not have anything to distract zombies with.

>>4543728
>>4543732
I believe buck could attract unwanted attention to the truck.

>>4543738
You think zombies can smell well?

>>4543740
In the prologue, OP was talking how they hunt and such, and then with Kyle they were probably attracted to his house because of food too. I think Jack should just leave that buck where it is. Forest could be filled with zombies too.

>>4543728
I don't want to spoil anything, but this choice in particular is being used to see what kind of players you are. Do you focus more on risky, "just-in-case" preparations/options or do you focus on more safe options? There is no second chances in a situation like this or else your choices will not matter in the long run. I want to see what you guys and ultimately the character would do.

>>4543738
We can always throw the buck out if trouble comes. That'll keep the zombies busy.

>>4543745
Do you mean how each character reacts to the threat? I imagine we'll play someone like Sarah more conservatively.

>>4543746
Yes, but consider what if we leave that car somewhere to fetch some stuff and then come back to see zombies dancing around that dead meat.

>>4543747
Yes. I did not give Jack a set philosophy with these kinds of choices. He is a serious, no-nonsense man, so I will not give him silly choices like I did with Kyle. However, a serious person may take risks if he can better guarantee survival or they may avoid risk altogether. Therefore, I want you, the players to set the tone for what kind of decision-maker Jack is.

>>4543745
>There is no second chances in a situation like this or else your choices will not matter in the long run
I think you're too radical with this statement. If it was true, then this quest would have two choices per character, then the ending.

>>4543756
What I meant by that was that a decision is permanent. If I let us go back to change a certain choice, that could lead to decisions holding no weight. If you make a bad choice, it won't always lead to a bad ending, if that's what you mean. There are ways to make the situation better, or change the course of the story, but I just meant that you couldn't go back to a prior situation to change your choice. A character can change their mind over time, but they can't literally go back to a prior scenario. Does that make sense?

>>4543763
Of course this makes sense, but how does it help us to make a critical choice on zero info?

>>4543767
There isn't zero info. I have given clues to what would happen with each choice. Some others were speculating on some of the clues I gave, for example. But another important aspect of this story is that not everything will be predictable. I gave basic clues, but unexpected things can happen at any time. That comes with the territory of zombie stories. You can have a very rough idea where it leads with the clues I give at the very least.

>>4543746
I have serious doubts that you can throw out buck just like that.

QM, how does that truck actually look like?

File: Jack's Truck.png (1.06 MB, 2048x1133)

1.06 MB PNG

>>4543792
It's a normal truck that would look something like pic related. It is not one of his work trucks. It would have the standard front two seats, a few backseats, and the bed of the truck has plenty of room. There is hunting gear inside because both Jack and Austin unloaded their gear in there as stated before, except for the guns that Austin and Jack would bring with them, and the hunting vests that they have not taken off yet. (I would let you know if they took those off).

>>4543806
Thank you. And also, can we ask what Austin wanted to tell Jack before he interrupted him?
>“Wait-“

>>4543810
Austin was going to ask Jack if he should come with him since it sounded serious. Since Jack hung up before Austin could ask, he decided to quickly pack up and go to the car. He had not heard the scream and would have no idea where to go, so he figured that getting in the truck and having it ready in case someone was injured would be his best course of action.

I'm really happy there is a lot of engagement with this choice. This is the most I have gotten from a choice so far. Feel free to ask any questions you have whenever you have them. And don't forget to vote once you've made up your minds!

>>4543820
Also, is it possible to change my vote, after I already vote?
And, I suppose Jack is older and more experienced that Austin, right?

>>4543829
You can change your vote as long as you do so before I end the voting period. This time, it is at 5pm PST which is about 3 hours from now.
>And, I suppose Jack is older and more experienced that Austin, right?
Austin is about as old as Jack and about as experienced, give or take a few years. Jack isn't the type to have many friends, but he does have a few like Austin. However, Austin is the only friend of Jack's you will meet, so don't worry about any of the others.

>>4543708
As much as I think that that buck will be a lot of trouble to get and then get rid of. I trust Jack's intuition as he got more experience than Austin, at least with zombies. I also got this weird gut feeling about NOT taking that buck, as it might be crucial in some breaking moment.
So I think they should
>Get the buck and go back to the truck. They will make sure to bring their guns with them.

>>4543708
>Get the buck and go back to the truck. They will make sure to bring their guns with them.

Last call for votes! There is about 20 minutes left!

So far, we have:
>>4543902
>>4543852
>>4543730
3 votes for "Get the buck and go back to the truck. They will make sure to bring their guns with them."

>>4543728
1 vote for "Drive away without the buck. It’s too dangerous to go back in the forest."

No more votes! Writing it out now.

File: Jack and Austin Carrying (...).jpg (186 KB, 1000x619)

186 KB JPG

Austin grabs his gun and they both set out to retrieve the buck. Both Jack and Austin are surveying the area, keeping a close eye on anything suspicious.

As they approach the location, their worst fears are confirmed. There are zombies around. They must have heard Jack’s gunshot earlier. They aren’t close to the buck yet, but they are there. Luckily, it looks like the zombies haven’t spotted the buck or either Jack or Austin yet. There are 2 in total and they are facing the opposite direction. They are about 40 feet (12.2 meters) from the buck.

“Jack, we can’t do this. They will see us, and we’ll be slow bringing the buck back. Let’s get out of here.”

“Not yet, Austin. If we are quiet, we can still do this without them noticing. Let’s just tiptoe our way to it.”

“Man, you’ve got some balls. But let’s do it.”

Slowly, but surely, the get closer and closer to the buck. They pick it up and start slowly taking it to the truck.

It’s much heavier than they expected. This is the first time either Jack or Austin have killed such a large animal. Jack is strong enough to hold his end of the buck without issue, but Austin is clearly struggling. “Come on, Austin. Don’t give out on me.” Jack whispered.

As they get closer to the truck, they start to notice more zombies approaching the area. There seem to be 8 in total. The forest is filled with foliage, so Austin and Jack are hidden, but one wrong move and they might be seen.

If they can make it to the truck without Austin dropping the buck, they can get away with no issues. If Austin gives out and drops it momentarily, some zombies will hear this. It is also not a good idea to set it down gently to take a brief break since there is only a small amount of time left before even more zombies will approach the area.

>Roll a 1d2.

Rolling a 2 means Austin can hold on and rolling a 1 means Austin will drop it. You only get one roll per poster. There needs to be 2 successful rolls in a row to keep Austin from dropping it.

For example: Let’s say Anon A rolls a 2, then Anon B rolls a 1, and then Anon C rolls a 2, that would not be a successful resolution. You need two rolls of 2 in a row to get it. If Anon D then comes in and rolls a 2 after Anon C, then that would be a successful roll. Since Anon C rolled a 2 and Anon D rolled a 2 in a row, that means the criteria is satisfied.

You have 2 hours to get this result. If you guys cannot roll 2 twos in a row, Austin will drop it. If you guys do get it, the rolling will end immediately. There is no way to fail after getting this successfully once.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>4544048
Seems reasonable.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>4544048
COME ON

>>4544078
>>4544087
Damn, that was quick! No more rolling! Writing it out now!

File: Austin in the passenger s(...).png (439 KB, 579x444)

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Jack, seeing Austin about to give out says. “Hey man, you can do this. We are very close. If you give out now, we could both get killed. Don’t you want to see your wife and kids again?”

Austin, who is happily married and has 2 sons, gets a newfound strength and puts all he’s got into this. Luckily, they are just about to approach the truck, so this last spurt of strength was all that was needed.

As they approach the truck, Jack says “Let’s get ‘em in the back seat. If we put it in the bed, zombies may be able to smell it decaying.”

“Good idea. Let’s do this quickly, I’m about to drop this big guy.”

Jack, using one hand to open the truck and one to hold the buck, is able to guide it to the back seat. After closing the door, Jack hunches over, putting his hands on his knees. He is out of breath and breathing quite heavily.

“Holy shit, Jack. I didn’t realize you were so strong. My arms are going to be sore tomorrow.”

“It wasn’t that heavy, man. It’s a good thing your family wasn’t here, or they would be embarrassed by how you’re acting. Come on, stand up straight and tough it out. Now let’s get in the truck and get the fuck out of here.”

Jack gets to the driver’s seat and puts his seat belt on. The car was already started up by Austin earlier. Austin is still collecting himself.

However, all the talking must have attracted one of the zombies from earlier. While zombies walk most of the time, they can run for short bursts if they believe their pray is getting away.

Jack, seeing the running zombie behind Austin, opens his door and shouts, “AUSTIN, GET IN NOW. A ZOMBIE IS COMING!”

Austin looks behind himself and sees the oncoming threat, so he quickly gets in the truck with haste. However, before Jack or Austin could lock the door quickly enough, the zombie grabbed the handle and started pulling.

Austin was already not the strongest, but with being exhausted from the previous lifting, can’t hold the zombie back. “Jack, help me!”

Jack quickly undoes his seat belt, gets out, and aims his gun at the zombie’s head. It’s already gotten the door open and is trying to take a bite from Austin. However, the angle that Jack would shoot would cause the bullet to hit Austin. Jack hesitates a bit, but he needs to act.

Bang

The sound of the Jack’s rifle pierces the air and is deafening. However, the zombie slumps over. Its brain was severely damaged. Jack pulls the zombie off.

-1 Ammo in Jack’s gun. Jack has 9 bullets left.

“Are you okay, Austin?”

After looking at him, Austin was clearly not okay and was writhing in pain. It seems like the bullet hit him in the chest.

“This isn’t good. Fuck, I need to get him to a hospital.” Jack closes the door, gets in his seat, locks all the doors, puts his seat belt on, and starts thinking of a plan.

>Take Austin to the nearby hospital.
>Jack knows where his doctor lives. He can take Austin there.

This will be it for me today. I will be back at 12pm PST tomorrow (about 17 and a half hours from now.)

>>4544153
>>Take Austin to the nearby hospital.

Crap, I almost forgot. You have also unlocked the ability to switch characters now. The next character is Sarah.

>Take Austin to the nearby hospital.
>Jack knows where his doctor lives. He can take Austin there.
>switch characters

>>4544165
I apologize for not posting sooner. Feel free to change your vote if you want. Or keep it.

>>4544153
>Jack knows where his doctor lives. He can take Austin there.
Hospital is *the* worst place to be in an outbreak

>>4544153
>Jack knows where his doctor lives. He can take Austin there.
I agree with the sentiment above

>>4544291
>>4544307
> I agree with the sentiment above
I don't.
What makes you think that a during zombie outbreak the doctor will stay home, drink tea and watch world burn?
Hospital will attract more humans, including doctors and injured, and zombies alike, because of the injured. But I guess the chances that somebody will be able to provide first aid to Austin is higher in hospital. I doubt that during an attack en masse from big-brained hungry apes human civilization will fall apart at once, and that humans will immediately switch to free-for-all mode.

>>4544153
>Take Austin to the nearby hospital.
If there's a large outbreak, it's very likely that the doctor would volunteer to help somewhere and wouldn't be home.

>>4544153
>>Jack knows where his doctor lives. He can take Austin there.

>>4544171
IDK Rick, maybe both are bad ideas, but QM, have a question: jack knows the doctor and have his phone number? I know about don't allow the write in at this point but in real scenario if we know the doctor, at least If I know him, I will try to reach him via a call. But well. Just, if I can ask, if jack have the phone number of the doctor and try to call him, the doctor take the call or not?
If don't have it, maybe call 911 and see what answer they give to us, before make a choice.

>>4544153

>Take Austin to the nearby hospital.

Everyone was ordered to go to the police stations, right? Obviously the local doctor would also be there unless he was at a hospital.

On that note, Kyle's dad is the chief of police, right? While the police are likely putting most people in danger based on what I've heard, his connections make him a lot more valuable than most. I suspect the police station is probably one of the safest places for him in particular. If only we had taken the thumbdrive...

>>4544674
Are they even in the same city? It seem to me like they are separate stories of same outbreak. Well, Larry definitely doesn't go anywhere off his ship.
As for Kyle. Actually, I wonder what relationship he has with his dad. Like, if his dad is very disappointed with his son, I wouldn't be surprised if he went as far as to kill him. Otherwise, police station would be safest place for him indeed. Albeit, I doubt it'll be that easy.
And with Jack and Austin. I agree that they should go to hospital.

>>4544617
>Maybe both are bad ideas.
Then we should obviously choose better of the two. I agree that calling either while driving would be great help. But it seems to me that we, players, are more of a subconsciousness of that particular character, not really in character's mind itself. So when Jack asks his subconsciousness which of two he should choose, that's our job, I guess. Am I wrong?

>>4544153
>>Take Austin to the nearby hospital.

>>4544721

The stories are definitely interconnected, given that QM referenced making choices for zombie characters and stating that the order of the character roster was important to the quest. As far as same starting cities, not sure, but they must be in nearby cities, at least.

Solely on a meta call, Kyle's happy ending allows him to survive with both of his parents. It's unlikely that his own parents are out to kill him given this information.

>>4544153
>Jack knows where his doctor lives. He can take Austin there.

>>4544674
I'm with u anon, can't imagine how the letter gonna help us in any case but this are the card what the destiny play against us, now is our turn to use the blue eyes white dragon against it in the Kyle's storyline.
>>4544721
Of course, I understand the point of "better of two bad situations", but if all two of them get the same ending? I mean:
>Hospital route: oh no, so many ppl together in a building get the attention of the zombies and now are trying to enter while the police is defending the entrances, we can't entry, Austin noooo you're ded. Oh no, a zombie, ah!!!!! *Ded*
>Doctor route: is anyone at home please? My friend get injured with a bullet, and... Austin noooo you're ded. Oh no, zombies are everywhere bcs we're in a residential area, ah!!!! *Ded*
You follow me? In any case... I believe this: Austin is already dead, and we need to chose where we should go between both of the options taking in count just our situation. Hospital can be surrounded. Residential area can be no man land. Maybe we can get some support for the police in the hospital IF they're there trying to keep the infected on the line. Maybe we can have more routes to escape in the residential zone... Sorry Austin but meta thinking, Jack have a family too and don't have a bullet in the chest.
>Jack knows where his doctor lives. He can take Austin there.

>>4544740
You're right about Kyle.

>>4544781
>You follow me?
I do, but don't agree.

>Take Austin to the nearby hospital.

>>4544617
Jack does have the Doctor's phone number, so we can have him call if that option is picked. However, I will not say whether or not he will answer. Remember, I will not spoil any part of any choice. However, calling the police is not something Jack wants to do. Remember what Jack said much earlier:
>They would take too long to be any real help, and it would be faster to take whoever it is to the hospital from the truck
And it would also be quicker to drive to the doctor's house as well. So Jack will not call the police at this time.
>>4544674
>Everyone was ordered to go to the police stations, right
Remember what time that order was given (the time was shown in Kevin's Discord messages to Kyle) and remember when Jack's story started. That's all I will say on that.

>>4544813
>>4544153
>>4544674

Thanks for the tip. Then the Doc should still be in the house since the order didn't happen yet.

>Jack knows where his doctor lives. He can take Austin there.

I'm going to change my vote to this, and also ask that Jack first call the local doctor to see if he will answer.

>>4544823
Wait, what?
Why would you go to his home? It's not like he should be ready or eager to do his job 24/7. That's what hospital is for.

Like, you can call him for an advice, but he'll probably tell you to go to hospital. It's not like you go to yours doctor home, when you got a problem. You go to hospital, where they are ready for you all the time, got right equipment, etc.

>>4544830
>>4544781

I agree with the above theory. Austin is most likely doomed, and even if he isn't, I don't think his life is of much consequence to Jack's story. Even if going to the hospital will get Austin better medical care, they'll also be in one of the worst possible places when the ominous evacuation order comes up in 3.5 hours from the time Jack's story started. I'd imagine at least a half hour of that has been used up already, since we shot a buck, ran from a zombie, got in touch with Austin, and then went back to the buck we shot to haul it onto the truck.

Tl;dr, the clock is against us if we go to the hospital, and Austin's life is of little consequence to Jack's endings.

>>4544833
You wanna play meta?
About that evacuation. I'm not sure what to think. If police are bad guys, then we're in a lot of trouble. You find Kevins evidence convincing? I mean, he might have interpreted wrongly what he heard.

>>4544840
Based on what QM has told us, I suspect that playing meta is a key part of this quest. He wouldn't be as liberal with his hints otherwise.

I'm not going to completely jump the gun yet and say the police are themselves evil, but I do definitely think whatever plan they cooked up to keep people safe has gone horribly wrong, and they're inadvertently leading people to their own deaths at the very least. Either way, following them or asking them for help is not a good idea until we get more information, nor is putting ourselves in a position where we may be forced to follow them.

>>4544846
Agree about how we should approach police. Albeit, I think we still got a lot of time. Apocalypse didn't even start properly and we're going to sacrifice a live? It's possible Doc will save him, but I got doubts.

>>4544847
Either way, let's roll with meta then.
I'll change my vote too to
>Jack knows where his doctor lives. He can take Austin there.

>>4544847

If the wound is so deep that basic medical supplies won't help him with ample time to recover, I doubt that 3.5 hours in a hospital will be able to produce better results. We did hear that Jack can't do first aid for shit, though, so that's pretty worrying if the Doc isn't home.

As for police, I want to continue to state that I think Kyle and Kyle alone is 100% safe in the hands of the police. Chances are they're taking him to see his parents or someone close to them right now, rather than the usual treatment ordinary civilians get.

1 more hour until voting closes. Get your votes in if you haven't already!

>>4544850
I wonder. If information Kevin gave us is correct. Then they definitely weren't shot. How would they die then? I think it definitely has something common with zombies. Maybe they do experiments on humans to find an antidote? I doubt that they got pet zombie and feed him with fresh humans just like that.

>>4544850
I agree with you about Kyle.

>>4544846
Support the "meta" play. This is the thing: we know a lot of info what the npc doesn't, we know future event for jack bcs the storyline of Kyle and virtually can't use that to preserve Jack life. And QM every time ask us to follow the reality. Just realized this: we have a lot of cases in sci-fi where are a zombie virus, but QM tell us this isn't the case; BUT following the reality and trying to think inside the game, the same sci-fi myths and stereotypes should exist, maybe the info of "the zombies don't gonna convert u in a zombie" was given BUT not reach everyone, so maybe, and this is more my perspective, the police is in the believe what there's a zombie virus and ppl get infected by zombie encounters or so. Dealing with the "living death" it's too much for the normal ppl so they can fall in paranoia and misunderstoods. We need the "meta" info to choose wisely.

In other topics, maybe Kyle is already fucked, and it's gonna be a good idea keeping jack and everyone away from the Kyle's route if is possible.

>>4544857
Hmmm. We know that Kyle and Jack watched a video of first zombie outbreak a month ago. I think that majority or people, including police did too. And that they know some details, for example that bite won't turn you (I think that this information would definitely be there).

>>Jack knows where his doctor lives. He can take Austin there

>>4544857
About Kyle. His parents are on vacation, that include his father who's police chief. So, question is who is commanding police now? Someone else, or still his father? What kind of "vacation" they went to? That letter is handy now. But if his father is off limits, then Kyle might be eventualy in danger from police too. I have serious doubts again. But I think that Kyle alone should roll with the police. Or rather, which is preferable, we should find out about police more before Kyle is doomed.

>>4544861
Idk if that level of info will be shared, and if it is, everyone gonna believe it? There is my point. Try to play whit our privileged info but remember: if we know something doesn't mean it is public info. Or at least that is how i think the meta info work in the game.

>>4544874
Good point, we should be cautious.

Actually, QM, do you have something to say on this matter?

>>4544854

This is totally a crackpot theory at this point, but I think some company somewhere came up with an antidote that the police are forcibly administering. They think the success rate is high enough to save the vast majority of people, so a few people turning into zombies are within expectations. Problem is, it isn't, and soon most of the population will have become zombies.

>>4544870
I do think Kyle will likely have to play a bit of politcs to make it to the good ending, but as far as brute force and zombies goes, Kyle is definitely safest there. He also can't exactly seek help anywhere else since he can't socialize for shit.

>>4544880
I don't want to give too much info away this early on, but what the average person knows is from the news broadcasts at the time. Think about what you know when it comes to the news: they are sensationalist. Interpret this information however you wish, but since this may come up later, I do not wish to divulge much more on this.

>>4544883
How do you expect Kyle to do politics if he's terrible at socializing? But that's definitely his best bet, if we just took that weed. Last of his PROS we got is that he isn't bad with computers... (Stockpile and his weapon collection is off limits now.)

>>4544891
He has his dad's contacts and can likely get additional contacts through him. I suspect that secret package is also going to be a complete game changer once we open it. Keep in mind that you also only have to roll for conversation in groups. Kyle can privately deal with people 1 on 1 without rolling. In short, we have to identify the right people to persuade and then persuade them before shit hits the fan.

>>4544890
Okay, I read you.
*gulp*

>>4544893
Sounds like a plan! You said earlier that you think that only Kyle is safe with police. I think that either with Sarah or Stacey we might have to follow police orders, you know, evacuation. Do you think we should defy them at all costs, or maybe try out luck?

No more voting!

>>4544868
>>4544849
>>4544823
>>4544781
>>4544764
>>4544578
>>4544307
>>4544291
8 votes for "Jack knows where his doctor lives. He can take Austin there"

>>4544731
>>4544547
>>4544165
3 votes for "Take Austin to the nearby hospital."

This is the most votes I've had in any decision so far, so please let me know if I missed your vote. Some people have changed their vote, so I have made sure to accommodate that, but if I didn't catch your change, please let me know.

Writing now!

I also want to say that the amount of interaction and speculation has been amazing so far. This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks so much everybody for being so engaged. I'm glad to have captured everybody's interest with this quest! Anyway, I will write now.

>>4544901

I think we should absolutely avoid police at all costs until we get more information.

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As Jack is about to take-off to the hospital, a worrying thought enters his mind. “The zombies are probably not only located in the forest. They are likely heading to major population zones and hospitals would be a place for easy pickings.”

But what else could Jack do? His friend is beyond needing basic first aid, so he needs to find somewhere that can treat him.

“I’ve got it.” Jack thought. Jack’s doctor, Doctor Gardner, has helped Jack out of many sticky situations in the past, so maybe he could take care of Austin. While he couldn’t do a complicated surgery alone, he could probably keep Austin alive until they can get him better care. Jack’s doctor lives somewhat close to the forest and away from the hustle and bustle of the city. His commute to work is longer than most, but he enjoys the long drives. It helps him think.

But another worrying thought enters Jack’s mind, “Is he even home right now?” Jack check’s his truck’s clock, it says 7:38. Jack decides to give him a call just to be safe. Jack pulls out his cellphone, locates Gardner on his contacts, and hits call.

“You have reached Doctor Gardner’s voicemailbox, please leave your name and number, and I will return your call.”

“Damn it, straight to voicemail. Fuck, this could mean he is either on duty or he is sleeping.” Gardner is getting up there in age, and hates having his sleep interrupted. So, against hospital protocol, he turns his cellphone off when he sleeps. He is such a long-time doctor and given the hospital many good years of service, so he knows he can get away with it.

Just then, the zombie that Jack had shot and dragged away from Austin got up and started pounding on the door, trying to get in. Luckily, Jack had locked the doors.

“What the hell? I shot it cleanly in the brain, how did it get back up? The police in that footage had killed the zombies by blowing their brains out. Why is it still alive? Fuck, I need to get out of here.”

Jack speeds away from there and decides to just take a chance with his doctor.

On his way there, Jack ponders about what happened. “How is that thing still alive? Could it be that the bullet didn’t destroy enough of its brain? I knew these things healed quickly, but can they really heal a brain injury this quickly?” Jack laments that he didn’t bring his shotgun with him since he could destroy a zombie’s brain completely with it.

Despite what happened to Austin, it was probably a good idea to grab that buck. If his rifle can’t kill one of those things in one shot, he could use all the help he can get.

Jack pulls into Gardner’s driveway. There is not a soul in sight. If he didn’t know any better, he would have assumed this day was like any other. Jack grabs his gun and gets out of the truck. He rings the doorbell.

No response.

“Come on. Come on! Answer the door!” Jack rings the bell rapidly. After what seemed like an eternity, a groggy sounding voice called out.

(1/2)

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“Who is it? It’s 7:50 in the morning. What is with all the damn ruckus?” The doc looks through the peephole and can only make out someone with a rifle. “Go away! I don’t have anything worth stealing. I’m going to call the police if you don’t leave right now!”

“Doctor Gardner, it’s me, Jack. It’s an emergency. I can’t talk here. Please open up. My friend has been shot and needs immediate assistance.”

“Then you should call 911. They will be much more use than just me. I can call them for you if you need me to.”

Gardner, still half-asleep and not understanding the importance of anything other than sleep is right now, goes back and forward with Jack for a solid minute. Jack is getting pissed off. His friend is dying in his truck, and he is out in the open and could potentially get attacked by zombies at any moment.

“Goddamn it, Doctor Gardner. Open this fucking door or I’ll break it down myself. Austin’s life if more important than your precious sleep. Open up, now.”

Gardner reluctantly opens the door, and says “Is that any way to talk to the elderly? You should mind your manners-“

bam

Jack punches Gardner straight in the face, not hard enough to knock him out, but enough for him to really feel it.

“I’ve had enough of your attitude. My friend is dying in there and all you can think about is how I address you?” Gardner shuts up and listens to Jack’s brief explanation of what happened.

Gardner finally understands what’s going on, apologizes to Jack, and helps get Austin into the house. As they are bringing Austin in, some zombies, too far for Jack and Gardner to see, have taken notice and are slowly inching closer. However, they are plenty far away.

“While I can’t do as much as a full team could do, I think I could at least stop the bleeding and remove the bullet. You were lucky, Jack. The bullet missed any vital organs and didn’t enter too deep. However, he is going to need to get real surgery to close the wound and to prevent any infections. Give me some time, maybe 8 hours, and I could probably get him stable.”

“Thanks, Doctor Gardner. I apologize for hitting you, but I was really worried about my friend. I’m sure you understand.”

After resolving any tension between the two and the doctor getting to work on Austin, Jack has a lot of free time. The doc said about 8 hours would be necessary for this. In the meantime, what should Jack do?

>Turn on the news
>Call Jacky and Lindsey to see if they’re doing alright
>Go scouting outdoors. It would be better to keep zombies away from the house for as long as possible.
>switch characters

I am going to be busy today, so I won’t be back until 7pm PST (about 6 hours from now).

(2/2)

>>4544953
>Call Jacky and Lindsey to see if they’re doing alright
>>punching the doctor in the face
>>getting him to apologize
Damn, Jack is based.

>>4544953
>Call Jacky and Lindsey to see if they’re doing alright
They are top priority

>>4544953

>Call Jacky and Lindsey to see if they’re doing alright

I'm conflicted about not choosing to scout first, but since we have no information about them at all, this is probably the best option.

>>4544953
>Call Jacky and Lindsey to see if they’re doing alright

>>4544953
>Call Jacky and Lindsey to see if they’re doing alright

>Call Jacky and Lindsey to see if they’re doing alright

We have like 8 hours so the most important thing first

>>4544953
>Call Jacky and Lindsey to see if they’re doing alright

No more voting!

>>4544985
>>4545010
>>4545011
>>4545052
>>4545053
>>4545149
>>4545194
All votes are for "Call Jacky and Lindsey to see if they’re doing alright"

I have the next post fully ready. I will post it now!

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Jack is worried about his daughter and his ex-wife, so he decides to give them a call to see if they are okay.

“Jack, it’s odd for you to call this early. Is something wrong?” Jacky, quick to answer the phone, said.

“Where are you guys? Is Lindsey okay?”

“She’s in bed, sleeping. She has a cold, so she is missing school today. Why? What’s wrong?”

“Have you watched the news? There is something really bad going on right now.”

“What? The news didn’t say anything about something like that. In fact, the news channels are just showing re-runs of yesterday’s broadcasts.”

This revelation has dumbfounded Jack. He figured somebody would be reporting on this. Are they not able to? Is this already that deadly? He has a bad feeling about this.

“Jack, you still there?”

“I’m here Jacky, but I’m just a bit surprised by what you said. The zombies must be more widespread than I had thought.”

“The what???”

Jack explains what’s going on.

Regardless of what happens, Jack will be making his way to them. Jacky and Lindsey live in another part of the country, about a full day’s drive from Jack’s house. Jack never minded this arrangement since he was always on the road anyways. He was used to driving long distances.

However, Jack feels bad about what happened to Austin. He feels partially responsible. If it wasn’t for him insisting on collecting the buck, Austin wouldn’t have been injured. He feels an urge to stay until Austin is healed.

Before Jack could decide on anything, Doctor Gardner butts in, “Jack, I know you need to go see your family, but I’m a sitting duck here. I’m going to be working on Austin for a long time. I need someone to protect me or else we could both get attacked while your gone. Plus, if anybody else gets injured, it would be a good idea to keep me around. I’ll join you and we can even bring Austin with us. Maybe a farther away hospital won’t be so bad.”

Jack sides with the doctor on this. However, he doesn’t want anything bad happening to his family, so he is going to help them in any way he can.

“Jacky, there is something important I need to tell you.”

What piece of advice should he give Jacky and Lindsey?

>Hunker down, board up the doors and windows, turn off all the lights, and make sure to not go outside.
>Call the police to hopefully be escorted to safety.
>Write-in
>Switch characters

You have unlocked the ability to do write-ins. We are sufficiently deep in Jack’s story to where a death caused by a bad write-in won’t completely ruin the story. However, if a write-in is truly awful and out of character, I will veto it and choose the next most chosen choice. It would have to be really bad for me to do that like “Make-out with a zombie” or something silly like that.

Also, I’m going to be pretty busy until tomorrow night at 8pm PST (about 25 hours from now), so the voting window will end then. I apologize for keeping you guys waiting for so long.

>>4545450

>Hunker down, board up the doors and windows, turn off all the lights, and make sure to not go outside.

We obviously know how it goes with police, frens.

As an aside, love the "hopefully" wording on the call the police option. Best schmuck bait I've ever seen in a quest. My props to the QM.

>>4545450
>Hunker down, board up the doors and windows, turn off all the lights, and make sure to not go outside.

I was thinking maybe the cops aren't that bad, the screams could have been from a person who was infected or someone wounded, and they apparently respect Kyle because he is the chief's son. But still I would go for >Hunker down, board up the doors and windows, turn off all the lights, and make sure to not go outside. Because it seems the safest.

>>4544953
Phew, the doctor is at home. When was reading about jack calling and nobody answered I say "well Austin, thanks for everything" but hey, everything goes better than I expected. Now we have some new info about the public domain about, well, info:
>>Police Broadcast the video killing zombies shooting at the head and it work
Not false but incomplete, they show them killing zombies but don't clarify what is necessary to kill one, either don't know o don't taking care about it.
>>News repeating the programs from yesterday
A info blackout, someone or something (cof cof, QM) don't want the ppl know about what is happening, either for wait untill the last moment for panic or for something with power don't want the ppl know the end what is waiting outside.
>>Zombies at forest but also in a confined residential area like where the doctor home is
They're here, they're there, they're a lot and this is only get worst, at the point for zombies reaching a forest area is terrible by now, and putting the zombie outbreak in a study plane like a disease, for everyone we see, there is at least 4 or 5 we don't. So this is very bad already before the evacuation alert comes.
Something to think in the meantime:
-The police will come asking to leave, and we need to know what we gonna do then if we stay here.
-The outbreak only gonna be worst by time, need to act now.
-A doctor is a must in a group but Jack don't need a group for his endings, so Jack is our only priority.
-Austin gonna be good but need go to a medical center, and well, we gonna take him and the doctor there? I don't see it.

>>4544909
+1

>>4544893
Dad contact and info was clarified was in the memory stick, literally.

>>4544881
Maybe, this is viable. But come to think if the police having a antidote don't gonna use it the first line man first. Maybe an antidote make you half zombie, having the intelligence but also the hungry? If this come, the police is harvest ppl and use they like cattle. (In the police station: the deputy reading "101 ways to cook a fat geek" in this alternative.)

And my vote:

>Hunker down, board up the doors and windows, turn off all the lights, and make sure to not go outside.

Now, a question: we gonna save the girls? Bcs I'm after the true ending, idk what do you want guys but the girls don't gonna be good placed in a zombie outbreak and they will be a charge and a vulnerability to Jack, but I understand if you want a happy ending and don't think what comes next.

>>4545450
>Hunker down, board up the doors and windows, turn off all the lights, and make sure to not go outside.

>>4545581
>I'm after the true ending
>the girls will be a charge and a vulnerability to Jack
Are you a psychopath?

>>4545581
>Now, a question: we gonna save the girls? Bcs I'm after the true ending, idk what do you want guys but the girls don't gonna be good placed in a zombie outbreak and they will be a charge and a vulnerability to Jack, but I understand if you want a happy ending and don't think what comes next.
>Regardless of what happens, Jack will be making his way to them.
Happy ending is naturally what characters want to future be like and they'll definitely do their best to achieve that. So, we should rather go after happy ending.

>The police will come asking to leave, and we need to know what we gonna do then if we stay here.
They did so with Kevin and Kyle, but escorting this way whole city isn't really a realistic option. So, I wouldn't really worry about that. Rather, it seems to me that they cherrypick their victims

>The outbreak only gonna be worst by time, need to act now.
No need to rush. I'd rather get prepared a plan for the worst than jump off and hope we'll get out of the city easily.

>A doctor is a must in a group but Jack don't need a group for his endings, so Jack is our only priority.
>Austin gonna be good but need go to a medical center, and well, we gonna take him and the doctor there? I don't see it.
As for zombies, cooperating in groups work to some extent. I guess that should work for humans too. And that sticking with the group would increase everyones chances by great margin.

About that advice what Jack wants to give to Jacky.
I'd roll too with
>Hunker down, board up the doors and windows, turn off all the lights, and make sure to not go outside.
But I'd like to remind of something some anon said a long time ago in a post far, far away.
>Don't drink tap water, only botteled one. If there's no other way around, then at least keep that tap water boiling at 100 °C (212 °F) for one minute.
We still don't know how virus has spread, so being cautious it even better option here. And hopefully boiling might kill that virus, if it's present in water

>>4545504
Agree here, we don't know what exactly Kevin heard. Some civilians might have got infected earlier, but turned zombies later, when police already escorted them, and wounded some other civilian.

Something definitely caused outbreak. If virus is really spreading by water, then most obvious point of interest would be local water purification plant. But I doubt that would cause outbreak in whole world. At this point, we don't know wheter it is local or world outbreak. And either, it might have been terrorist attack, by some corporation or few people, but I doubt as there isn't much to gain from turning people to zombies. Or it has to do something with patient zero, two people in our case that survived that human experiments.

Before I head to bed for the night, I wanted to make sure I clarify something crucial, just in case. There was a bit of talk about the true versus happy/okay endings.

The true ending requires that you NEVER meet Jacky and Lindsey, even once. Phone calls are okay, but if you meet them, you are locked out of this ending. If you reunite with both of them and both die, even if Jack is alone and survives, that is the okay ending. The main difference is that Jack has no idea if they are alive in the true ending. So if you meet them, you know that you can never get the true ending. Since one player wanted the true ending, keep that in mind.

But on the flip side, you can't get the happy ending without reuniting with them. Phone calls do not count. You need to properly reunite.

>>4545704
yeah true ending seems fine for me. No need to put Jack through all the pain of possible death of his family. Best to make his family's lives unknown to him.

>Hunker down, board up the doors and windows, turn off all the lights, and make sure to not go outside.

>>4545803
>yeah true ending seems fine for me. No need to put Jack through all the pain of possible death of his family. Best to make his family's lives unknown to him
> Yeee, fuck family who needs them. Who'll ever wonder what happened to them? Nobody should give a fuck about their close ones, especially not Jack.

>>4545450
>Hunker down, board up the doors and windows, turn off all the lights, and make sure to not go outside.

>>4545813
It's pretty funny but that is exactly what I was thinking. About by a psycho well... If I was a psycho, can tell you in a easy way? Hmm something to think about. Maybe we need to put in vote about pros and cons of reach the family. At my side of view, there is no pro, but a lot of risks in the contrarieties side. I think Jack can live thinking "I warned them, they have to be safe, their mother is someone capable, they will be fine. " APART, if we do not reach the family, we directly prevent Jack by his actions, or inaction, from causing their death. After the story of the role, maybe Jack could go after them, And even find them alive and safe, but they would be in that "quantum" state until then. If we get close, we subject them to our actions and our dice, therefore we can kill them. If you think about it, we even protect them and Jack himself. As well as a point of neutrality, I propose that if we cannot agree with a majority on a course of action, we change characters. That would give us a chance to put the situation on hold and have more perspective, and give all of us a chance to think better of things.

>>4545887
I think you're too detached from this world. Or maybe influenced by personal experience, but this not place to discuss such things.
While voting of pros and cons would definitely be very interesting. There's no need to do this. You don't make list of pros and cons when choosing whom to love. So doesn't Jack. He loves his family, his daugher. And he is friends with his ex-wife. What make you to believe he wouldn't like to reunite with them? Could the source of that be some kind of insecurity? Like when he gets too close, he might fuck up some things and cause their deaths, which would make him suffer a lot? Would he not pursue happines because of some fear, paralazying kind of fear?

>If we get close, we subject them to our actions and our dice, therefore we can kill them. If you think about it, we even protect them and Jack himself.
We would protect them only from Jacks failure. And Jack from letting them down. But he would still think and wonder what happened to them. He wouldn't be able to think about anything else. And he could break down and just end himself. I am maybe exaggereting bit. But you get the point.
Yes, they may eventually reunite and both Jacky and Lindsey could die. He would be probably broken, and he might actually kill himself.
My point is that I doubt he could live on without even trying to get to them, protect them, love them, etc.

>>4545450
>>Hunker down, board up the doors and window

>>4545704
>true versus happy/okay endings.
bro who cares just play the game lol

>>4546034
Is something just to take the time while wait for the update. But have to admit is interesting to see the PoV of everyone.
>>4545940
About this, well anon everyone play as his way, no need to take it personal but I know how it motivates you when I say "if I was him...", I'm in that way too just a bit. Personally, I think we lack information if the decision were to be made at this time, and that we would only be killing them by bringing them on stage.We can keep in touch with them and believe me, if there's a good chance to save them where they don't die and neither does Jack, I'll support it.

>>4546074
>But have to admit is interesting to see the PoV of everyone.
It is.
>About this, well anon everyone play as his way.
I do. Oh... is it thaaat obvious?
>We would only be killing them by bringing them on stage.
Isn't that a bit gamey? I mean, in reality they could die anywhere and anyhow. Bringing them to Jack would probably increase their survival chances.
>I think we lack information if the decision were to be made at this time.
Okay... you're loosing me here. What are you talking about? What decision? I thought that plan is obvious:
>Get a big truck
>Make a fortress out of it
>Get food
>Save Kyles ass
>Straight to nearby town, about a day away (but we know it won't be thaat easy)
>Reunion
>Happy ending

>If there's a good chance to save them where they don't die and neither does Jack.
You're loosing me here too. What do you mean good chance? It's not like we'll be passing by and if it's safe we'll safe them.

>Is something just to take the time while wait for the update.
Damn... I think it's actually worth the time itself. I spent on this more time than I should, no regrets. Really enjoy the way author does narration.

>>4546094
Well, Maybe we will not understand each other, but in order not to continue filling the thread of posts that do not contribute to the story, well, we agree to disagree. Let's wait until the next vote to present our points, that just as if we are going, the story can spin at any moment.
>Really enjoy the way author does narration.
Maybe we can understand each other, I'm with you 110% in this.

>>4545581

Dad's contacts were in the memory stick, but dad's phone number was on the note, which we have. The hope is that we call dad and ask for other people we can turn to in the case of a crisis, which he should be able to give us from memory. We also have the location on the note, so we know where the police should drive us to so we can get to him. In either case, the politics/police route is still our best bet.

Personally, I think pursuing the happy ending is what the characters naturally strive for, so it'll be easier to achieve those than the true ending. We also have Okay endings if we fail the happy ending, which isn't the case with the true route.

>>4545675

While it's possible that the cops aren't bad, they could still definitely be misguided. I still think, with the exception of Kyle's story, it's definitely best to avoid police at this point.

1 more hour of voting! Get your votes in before it is too late!

I apologize for being gone for so long today. This is a busy time for me. I believe I should be pretty free on Friday and the weekend. But I will always do at least 1 daily quest update.

>>4546094
>>4546102
>Really enjoy the way author does narration
>I'm with you 110% in this
Thank you guys for the kind words. I appreciate it.

>>4546531
Things aren't going to change lol. Everyone voted for the same thing.

>>4546540
True, but I promised that voting would be open until a certain time. I don't really like to go back on my word.

No more voting!

All votes were for "Hunker down, board up the doors and windows, turn off all the lights, and make sure to not go outside."

>>4545675
Your write-in bit on top of the choice you picked is fine. It is plausible for Jack to say something like this, even with the choice that was picked. I will include it.

Writing now!

File: Lindsey on the phone with Jack.jpg (31 KB, 852x480)

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“It is extremely dangerous out here. You two need to stay indoors, lock and board up all the windows and doors and keep all the lights off. You need to make sure no zombies even suspect you are there. I wouldn’t even cook anything that has a strong smell. Finally, we have no idea how these people turned into zombies, so I wouldn’t drink tap water. If you are completely out of drinks, at least boil the water for a while.”

“Jack, this is a lot to take in, but I think I got it. What are you going to do?”

Jack explains his situation at Gardner’s house.

“But I will come to you guys as soon as I can. Just be patient. Can you put Lindsey on the phone for a moment? I know she has a cold, but I want to talk to her.”

Jacky gently wakes Lindsey up. “Lindsey. Hey, Lindsey.” Her voice softly accompanies the gentle nudges to Lindsey’s shoulder to wake her up.

“What is it mommy?” Lindsey asks. As she wakes up, she notices that her mom has the phone in her hand. This could only mean one thing.

“Is daddy on the phone!?” It’s been nearly three weeks since she saw her father. Tomorrow being her birthday, she was excited to be able to hear from him even before then.

With Jack always being on the road, Lindsey doesn’t get to see him as much as she would like. While she loves her mom, life with mom is ordinary. The limited time she gets to spend with her old man are filled with many fun activities and adventure.

Just 2 months ago, without telling Jacky or his boss, Jack took her with him on a cross-country trip that he normally does for his work. She had a blast seeing all the new sights that Jacky never showed her. When the trip was over, he even had a little time to spare, so he took her to the forest to show her what hunting was like. Lindsey always found hunting to be a bit mystical and always wondered what it was like. Needless to say, Lindsey was daddy’s little girl.

Jacky hands Lindsey the phone.

“Daddy, are you there?”

“Hey there, kiddo. I’m sorry it’s been so long.”

“Daddy, daddy, I drew you a picture. Can you look at it tomorrow? Are you coming for my birthday? When are you coming? I’ve missed you so much!”

“That’s kind of what I wanted to talk about with you, pumpkin. There is something bad happening right now. Daddy doesn’t know if he can come tomorrow, but he will try. In the meantime, listen to your mother. I know what she will tell you will sound weird, but I promise you that it will make sense soon. Be a good girl, okay?”

“Okay. But it sounds like you have to go already. Can’t you talk a little bit more? Pleaaaaaaaaase?”

“I’m sorry, kiddo. Daddy has some important work to do right now, but he will be sure to call when he leaves to come see you, okay? I love you, Lindsey. Talk to you later.”

Jack had to hang up before Lindsey could protest. As much as he loves talking with Lindsey, he has to make sure everything is safe for everybody here.

(1/2)

File: Jack's Weapons.jpg (168 KB, 1406x713)

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Only a few minutes have passed, and it will probably still take about 8 hours for Austin to be able to go anywhere.

“Jack, you got a minute?” Gardner calls to Jack. “Jack, I’ve seen all sorts of zombie movies. I know damn well that our position here is more dangerous than almost anywhere else. Could you please do what you can to make this place harder for zombies to get in? Anything you can will help. I have a shotgun upstairs. The ammo is in the ammo box in the closet, near the bathroom. The code is 2243. Do what you need with it.”

Jack collects the shotgun and finds 6 shells. In total, Jack has two hunting rifles (including Austin’s), 10 rifle rounds (9 in ammo boxes and 1 in Austin’s gun), a shotgun with 6 shells, and a couple hunting knives.

You are allotted 3 hours to do whatever you can to make the house and area more secure.

What should Jack do first?
>Scout the areas around the house to see if any zombies are present, and if so, lure them elsewhere. This could buy them some time later. (takes 1 hour)
>Drive around the area to see if he can gather supplies from the surrounding area. There is a hardware store, a grocery store with a pharmacy, a gun shop, and a movie theater in the surrounding area. (takes 1-2 hours depending on how many stops Jack makes)
>drive to your house to grab everything possible from supplies, to power tools, to your own weapons left at home (takes 1 hour)
>Your truck is running low on fuel and needs gas. It could also be a good idea to start hoarding the stuff now. If this is not done now, it can be done during the road trip, but will be riskier. (takes 1 hour)
>Start boarding up the house (Note, doing this now will end this section of the story. Sometimes, it’s good to quit while you are ahead. Will not cost any time and will fast forward 3 hours from now)
>Write-in
>Switch characters

No choice this time will lead to immediate death, but options during these outings can.

I will be available next at 12pm PST (about 15 hours from now). Voting will be open until then.

(2/2)

>>4546642
>Scout the areas around the house to see if any zombies are present, and if so, lure them elsewhere. This could buy them some time later. (takes 1 hour)

>>4546642
>Switch characters

>>4546642
>drive to your house to grab everything possible from supplies, to power tools, to your own weapons left at home (takes 1 hour)

>>4546642
>Your truck is running low on fuel and needs gas. It could also be a good idea to start hoarding the stuff now. If this is not done now, it can be done during the road trip, but will be riskier. (takes 1 hour)
The police have not evacuated the civilians and no alerts of any kind have been issued as we know will occur in the not too distant future. The time to do this is now.

>Your truck is running low on fuel and needs gas. It could also be a good idea to start hoarding the stuff now. If this is not done now, it can be done during the road trip, but will be riskier. (takes 1 hour)

>>4546642
>drive to your house to grab everything possible from supplies, to power tools, to your own weapons left at home (takes 1 hour)
>Your truck is running low on fuel and needs gas. It could also be a good idea to start hoarding the stuff now. If this is not done now, it can be done during the road trip, but will be riskier. (takes 1 hour)

>>4546642
I'd go with these. In this order.
>Scout the areas around the house to see if any zombies are present, and if so, lure them elsewhere. This could buy them some time later. (takes 1 hour)
>Your truck is running low on fuel and needs gas. It could also be a good idea to start hoarding the stuff now. If this is not done now, it can be done during the road trip, but will be riskier. (takes 1 hour)
>Drive to your house to grab everything possible from supplies, to power tools, to your own weapons left at home (takes 1 hour)

Combined with run-as-fast-as-you-can strategy, we've got enough firepower.
About pillaging local area, I think we still got time for that.
What do you guys think about boarding up the house? It will take 3 hours, which we could spend doing something else. But I'd like to change characters soon.

>>4546899
QM, using this as example, we should choose 3 options o just there first of the 3? because I thought that we would choose the first option, event occurs, then the next, event occurs, and then after 3 hours, a major event occurs. But seeing so many people with options in order, well I misunderstood?

>>4546899

I agree with these three options, though I think looting our own house is more immediately important than getting fuel, as we do have limited ammo at the moment.

>>4546642
>>Your truck is running low on fuel and needs gas. It could also be a good idea to start hoarding the stuff now. If this is not done now, it can be done during the road trip, but will be riskier. (takes 1 hour)

>>4546861
>>4546899
>>4546922
>>4546961
I apologize if I wasn't fully clear. I'm only looking for your first choice right now. So please only vote for the option you want to see first. If you voted for multiple ones and don't let me know which option you want first, I will assume the one you put at the top of your list is the one you want.

Oh and boarding up the house doesn't take 3 hours. However, it is the last thing that needs to be done. So doing that would just skip the story ahead until after this section, which is 3 hours from now.

>>4546961
I thought that we'd use weapons only when necessary and prefer to run or evade zombies at all costs. And as I specified, I think we should secure area before moving out, then truck as it is running low on fuel and only then we'll get ammo, tools and rest of supplies.

>>4546922
>>4546988
Aight, my bad. I'll specify my vote when I'll decide later.

One more hour of voting left. Get your votes in!

>>4546642
>drive to your house to grab everything possible from supplies, to power tools, to your own weapons left at home (takes 1 hour)

>>4546656
>>4546899
2 votes for "Scout the areas around the house to see if any zombies are present, and if so, lure them elsewhere. This could buy them some time later. (takes 1 hour)"

>>4546664
1 vote for "Switch characters"

>>4546721
>>4546861
>>4547240
3 votes for "drive to your house to grab everything possible from supplies, to power tools, to your own weapons left at home (takes 1 hour)"

>>4546730
>>4546747
>>4546978
3 votes for "Your truck is running low on fuel and needs gas. It could also be a good idea to start hoarding the stuff now. If this is not done now, it can be done during the road trip, but will be riskier. (takes 1 hour)"

Two of the options have 3 votes, so there is a tie. Since this has ended in a tie, I will allow 2 more hours of voting. However, if there is still a tie after 2 hours, I've explained earlier how ties work. They do not get a dice roll. Instead, in the event of a tie, whichever of the options was higher on the list will be chosen.

>>4546642
>>Your truck is running low on fuel and needs gas. It could also be a good idea to start hoarding the stuff now. If this is not done now, it can be done during the road trip, but will be riskier.

>>4546642
>>Your truck is running low on fuel and needs gas. It could also be a good idea to start hoarding the stuff now. If this is not done now, it can be done during the road trip, but will be riskier. (takes 1 hour)

>>4546642
>>4546656
>>4547285

Changing my vote to:
>Drive to your house to grab everything possible from supplies, to power tools, to your own weapons left at home (takes 1 hour)

>>4546642
>drive to your house to grab everything possible from supplies, to power tools, to your own weapons left at home (takes 1 hour)

What an interesting situation, we were out of a tie for a while, and now we are back to a tie. Well, I won't delay it any longer.

>>4546861
>>4547240
>>4546721
>>4547388
>>4547396
5 votes for "drive to your house to grab everything possible from supplies, to power tools, to your own weapons left at home (takes 1 hour)"

>>4546730
>>4546747
>>4546978
>>4547294
>>4547330
5 votes for "Your truck is running low on fuel and needs gas. It could also be a good idea to start hoarding the stuff now. If this is not done now, it can be done during the road trip, but will be riskier. (takes 1 hour)"

"drive to your house to grab everything possible from supplies, to power tools, to your own weapons left at home (takes 1 hour)" is higher on the list, so that is what wins this.

Writing now!

new theory: QM puts worse options higher on the list so they get picked in case of tie

>>4547437

Based on what we've seen, that isn't entirely true. I think that sometimes he puts the better options higher up to help us with choices that may not be as obvious.

File: Man running from zombies.jpg (41 KB, 768x356)

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“Doc, I’m going to head to my house. I have another shotgun and some more ammo there, plus I also have a pistol with plenty of ammo. I can also grab some power tools to make this place more secure when I board this place up. I’ll also look for any food, water, and anything else useful I can think of.”

“Doc? When did we get so familiar, Jack? Well, considering the situation, it’s okay. Don’t worry, I have a pistol of my own nearby. I can defend myself in a pinch. But I’ll call you if I need to. Good luck out there.” Gardner waves Jack goodbye and continues his work on Austin.

Before Jack leaves, he goes upstairs and peaks through the blinds from the bedroom. “This is a good vantage point. While I can’t see what’s in the backyard, I could at least see if there are any of those things in front.” Jack thought.

Outside, Jack sees nothing worth noting. However, this can change at any point.

Jack heads downstairs and right before he leaves, Gardner says “Hey Jack, I almost forgot. My spare key is in the fake rock near the driveway. The rock is green in color, you can’t miss it.”

Jack retrieves the spare key from the out of place rock, gets in his car, and starts it up. Jack lives about 30 minutes away from Gardner’s house, but Jack has enough fuel for the round trip.

While things still looked peaceful at Gardner’s residence, that couldn’t be farther from the truth for the road. As Jack is halfway to his destination, he sees some troubling sights. Zombies are all over. From the surrounding forest to the sidewalks, there is not a soul in sight on this road.

That is, until Jack reaches a nearby suburb. There is a man who is screaming for help. He is unharmed, but there are five separate zombies attempting to catch him. The man is much faster than they are, however, they are flanking him from all sides.

Jack does not need to save him, but he could shoot a few of the zombies so the man can escape being trapped. However, he has a limited amount of ammo and he has no idea how much he will need. It may not be the best idea to use up too much of it. However, Jack also feels like not at least trying to help this man would be a wasted opportunity to do good in these trying times.

(1/2)

Will Jack be altruistic and save this man or will he put his own survival first and let the man die?
>Save the man
>Drive away
>Write-in
>Switch characters

Finally, there are two mechanics in the quest that I was hoping to let everybody figure out, but I think it would be a good idea to reveal it now before we go too far in Jack’s story. The switching characters mechanic does a bit more than just allow you to have a new experience.

1. Some characters will interact with things in their story that another character could utilize for the future. For example, if there is an obstacle too heavy for Sarah to move and blocks her way, Jack could have moved it out of the way in his story since he is the strongest character in the quest. (Note: This specific interaction does not happen. This is just an example.) This can happen at any time.

2. When a character has gone far enough in their story to allow for write-ins, one purpose for this is so you guys could find a creative way to allow 2 characters meet. While this cannot be a long-lasting meetup, one character might have an item another could need. Or perhaps one knows something the other doesn’t and should relay the information so more choices open up. This can only happen if both characters have the write-in option. So, Jack currently cannot meet anybody else since nobody else has gotten that far. If we do switch to another character and get to another write-in, I will explain how to do this.

All endings are achievable without either mechanic. However, this may make for more interesting scenarios or more ways/easier ways to each ending. But if we want to continue with Jack until an ending before we switch, we certainly can. I just wanted to make everybody aware of this.

(2/2)

>>4547453

>Switch Characters

I want to save the man, but I don't think we have enough information to do that without risking getting ourselves killed. Tagging out to get more information on the zombie epidemic would be best for now.

>>4547453
>Save the man, but ram the zombies with the car instead of shooting.

>>4547453
>Switch characters
pretty cool stuff QM

>>4547453
>Switch characters
This person is probably important in the story. Maybe Sarah's husband. I want to help him but it's best to switch first.

Oh, and I almost forgot to give a voting window. I will allow this one until 4pm PST. That is about an hour and a half from now.

>>4547453
>Switch characters

>>4547453
>Switch characters

>>4547453
>Switch characters

No more votes!

>>4547456
>>4547463
>>4547466
>>4547473
>>4547481
>>4547517
6 votes for "Switch character"

>>4547460
1 vote for a Write-in

>>4547463
>pretty cool stuff QM
Thanks! I appreciate it.

Writing now! For those who may not remember, switching goes in the order that was voted for in the beginning. The next character is Sarah.

File: Teenage Sarah.jpg (57 KB, 626x417)

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When people think of being successful in life, they tend to imagine becoming rich with as much money they could ever need, or maybe they imagine becoming a celebrity that people adore. Some people do not feel like they ever did anything with their lives if they couldn’t be special in some way, and as they grow old, they have many regrets.

This wasn’t the case with Sarah. While only being in her twenties, she has already accomplished all that she ever needed in life. She had no dreams of grandeur or any aspirations to become the next top model.

As a child, Sarah’s mother was a workaholic and her father was a drunken bum who never could hold a steady job. He was abusive, so Sarah’s mother would stay at work even longer to escape him. During high school, her father was arrested for assaulting and accidentally killing a clerk at the local liquor store, and her mother was killed in a car crash.

Sarah developed depression in her teen years and was only going through the motions because everybody expected her to be normal. Life was a chore, and it held nothing of value, she thought at the time.

However, in Sarah’s freshman year of college, she was required to be in a group for her biology lab. This is how she met John. While initially, she treated him like she would treat any other person in a group. She paid him no mind. She would work quietly, doing only what was needed to be done and what was asked of her.

John, on the other hand, had a normal childhood with a loving set of parents. He was raised to be kind to other people, even when they weren’t to him. While most people tend to be nice, at least on the surface, John was a unique individual. If the school needed a volunteer for an event, he would volunteer. If someone complained that their parents forced them to pick weeds in their front yard, he would offer to help.

Now, Sarah is a good-looking girl, and with the way men tend to be nowadays, it wasn’t abnormal for some to try to be nice to her to get her in bed. While it never worked, it was something she was used to dealing with. It was so easy to spot, too. If they ever tried to do something nice, it was always overly overt to make sure they were noticed. They would always talk to her about things they obviously didn’t care about but was trying to get her to open up to make her easier to get with. They would invite her to things when they didn’t know each other that well and would invite her to places she wouldn’t care about.

John, on the other hand, did not act like them. He could easily pick-up on Sarah’s negative emotions, even through her normal facade. Instead of offering to do her part for her like so many other guys tended to do, he instead tried to help her when she seemed to be stuck. She didn’t even need to ask for help, but he could tell when she was struggling.

(1/2)

File: Sarah, John, and Adam together.jpg (104 KB, 1200x1200)

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One thing that stuck out to her is that John never told anybody or bragged about what he would do for other people. She remembers one time she saw John in the student dining hall. He was sitting by himself, studying and eating his lunch. One student got up from his spot to buy some food, but when he got to the front counter, he didn’t have enough money for it. The student was clearly not the richest and was living penny by penny. He began to plead with the worker if he could pay for it later, but to no avail. Defeated and hungry, he slinked back to his seat. But right on that’s student’s seat was a twenty dollar bill just sitting there. While the student had no idea who gifted him this, Sarah saw John place it on his seat.

It was things like this that caused Sarah to take an interest in him. John also took an interest in Sarah because he sensed that she had nobody to lean on. John wanted to be that person for her.

Soon, it was clear that they both liked each other, and they both started dating. For the first time in a long while, Sarah felt a bit of happiness. But that was nothing compared to how happy she felt when he proposed to her at her favorite restaurant.

John could notice something changing in Sarah over time. She was beginning to smile genuinely. She would start talking about things she liked more openly, and she even felt comfortable telling John about her past.

Sarah had truly become a happy person and decided that her purpose in life was to start a happy family. Something her parents never gave her. After the birth of Adam, she decided to drop out of college with John’s okay. She wanted to be there for him whenever he needed her.

Fast forward to today, and Sarah is practically nothing like she was before. She always seems to find the positive side of things, and always does whatever she can to make John and Adam happy. She believes that she owes John her life, so she has always been loyal to him and genuinely thinks the world of him. She also dotes on Adam and wants the best for him. One day, she hopes they can have another.

6:30 AM. Sarah wakes up at about the same time as John. John has work at 8:00 and is getting ready. Sarah enters Adam’s room and softly wakes him up since he has school today. She makes them both breakfast, and then gives John a big kiss goodbye. Adam takes the school bus each day.

While John has a decent living, they wouldn’t be able to afford a second car just yet. Besides, Adam has a lot of friends on the bus, so he looks forward to getting on each day. After making sure Adam has everything, Sarah waves him goodbye. After watching the bus drive off, she decides to get busy and start some cleaning.

Sarah always turns on the TV to listen to the early morning news while she cleans, but strangely, it seems to be a re-run of yesterday’s broadcast. “Odd” She thought.

(2/3)

Sarah has a few errands to run after cleaning. While she doesn’t have a car, everything is walkable and she is used to this routine.
>walk to the grocery store to pick up some groceries
>walk to the bank to deposit a check
>walk to the electronics store to buy Adam his Christmas present

I will leave the voting window open until 8pm PST (about 2 hours and 30 minutes from now).

(3/3)

>>4547684
>>walk to the grocery store to pick up some groceries

The other two choices seem pointless. Money won't have much value in an apocalypse, and I'm not really sure what we would do with electronics when we don't know how much time we would spend there. We currently don't know about the apocalypse yet, so we may not take anything of value, or the store may not even sell anything of value. I suppose the electronics store could be an interesting line to take, as it could lead to getting a secret item or event, but it could also be a complete waste of time. Hope to hear everyone else's thoughts on this.

>>4547684
>walk to the grocery store to pick up some groceries

The check is useless and I don't know what could be useful from the electronic store, a phone maybe? But still food is better

>>4547684
>walk to the grocery store to pick up some groceries

>>4547684
>>walk to the grocery store to pick up some groceries

No more votes!

All votes were for "walk to the grocery store to pick up some groceries."

Will write now!

File: Sarah's Zombie Bite.jpg (303 KB, 1936x1936)

303 KB JPG

Sarah decides to go to the grocery store since she is out of ingredients for the dinner she wanted to make for tonight. She also plans on picking up a handful of other things, but since she doesn’t have a car, she must be able to carry them on her own.

It is about 8:00 AM as she heads out. Sarah’s family lives in a quiet suburb in a decent part of town. They aren’t too close to the hustle and bustle of the city but are nowhere near as remote as Gardner’s house is.

Luckily, the grocery store is only about a 5 minute walk from home, so this trip shouldn’t take too long, or so she thought. After reaching the parking lot, it was clear something was going on. The store had a lot more people parked than normal at this time. And the people seemed to ignore the painted parking spots. This is unusual for this kind of area.

However, she continues on thinking that there may be some special event she wasn’t aware of inside. Before she can make it to the entrance, she is suddenly stopped by a homeless-looking man. His clothes were tattered, his eyes were bloodshot, and Sarah could definitely smell him even from a distance. He also had his hands outstretched.

Sarah has taken a page from John’s book and tends to give some change to the homeless. Before even hearing the man speak, she pulls out her change purse to give the man some. As she is about to hand the man some money, instead of grabbing the change, the man grabs her wrist and starts acting crazy.

Sarah is freaked out, so she screams. The man inches his face closer to her arm, and he takes a bite.

At this point, Sarah is screaming so loudly that anybody in the vicinity could hear her. This seemed to get the attention from some people inside the store and a couple of burly man came out armed with baseball bats. One swung it at the “man” and started pummeling his head repeatedly.

The other man quickly escorts Sarah inside. Her wrist is bleeding profusely and needs medical attention.

“Do we have a doctor in here? A woman was bitten!” Said the man.

“Yes, I can help her. I’m a doctor at the local clinic. Let me take her to the pharmacy,” said a much thinner, scrawny man.

As she is being escorted to the pharmacy area, Sarah notices that this store looks nothing like it did last week. There are barricades surrounding the entrances and exits. There seems to be at least 30 people inside who all seem startled by Sarah’s entrance.

Sarah is sat down on a nearby chair and the doctor grabs various items from the isles nearby to treat the wound.

The doctor starts taking care of the wound for her and it eventually starts to not hurt as badly as it did initially. Sarah, while still in pain, is able to calm down a bit. The doctor starts asking her questions.

“What is your name miss? I’m Doctor Johnson, but you can call me Dave. That’s what everybody calls me.”

“I’m Sarah. What’s going on in here? I have so many questions I don’t even know what to ask first.”

(1/3)