PASS

Brent hasn't even caught his breath before he sticks his head out the doorway to the alley, looking towards the street you just came from. A good number of shrieks and grounds find their way to your ears. With all that ammo, you just didn't get them all. How many are out there?

"No one's coming. Let's make for the apartment."

"Are you kidding me?" the newcomer harshly whispers. "There was a legion of those things! You can still hear them! How do you expect to fight through them?!"

"I don't. I expect to cut through this alley to the next street over and double time it down these blocks until I reach my wife. Anything else between this point and that means little to me. You can stay here if you want. All of you can. It's unfair to ask you guys to go through that again. But I'm going to her."

You stand up, finishing reloading both of your weapons. "No, we go together. Staying here might be a death trap. We're not sure how those things are tracking us, if they even are. There's not smart and they have an obstacle between us and them. It's better that we use that to gain some ground on them before they bust it down."

"Just... wait... let me catch... What's going on here? What's wrong with those people? Their skin... they look like they are sick with something? Where is everyone? What's the deal with these folded clothes? I mean, I remember closing out shop and then I awoke to the A-Team here... and why the hell are you guys armed?! Are you in the Army?"

Bobby took the woman's hand and looked deep into her eyes for a few seconds, almost like she was looking for something. "My name's Bobby. What's yours?"

Stunned by this behavior, the new woman let it known that her name is Tina.

"Ok, Tina. I'm going to be as steady as I can because this is a lot for me, so I can only imagine how it is to wake up to this. You need to remain calm. There are... diseased people who will act you on sight. You've seen that. Most of the island's population is... missing. We don't know what's happening any more than you, but there's not a suitable Q&A period when people are hunting, is there? Just... please trust us. We have a plan to get off the island. It's not safe here. Once we pick up his wife, we'll talk more. We should be safe there. But now... we gotta go."

You could see that Tina wanted to question. She wanted to make sense of this world, to get a new grasp on the reality she took for granted.. But she didn't dare. She nodded her head and looked towards you gun toting people. Frankly, you're busy looking at Bobby. First Raph, now this Tina girl. Bobby has a gift for getting through to people with logic. Good to know.

Brent's looking at Raph as he reloads. The click in place means that the job is done. Time to blow this pop stand. With you two at the door, Raph opens it and lets you and Brent shuffle out, making sure the alleyway is clear. It is on both ends. Nicolette, Bobby, and Tina walk out, carrying Lincoln amongst them. Raph comes out last and nods. Time to move.

Through the alleyway, and to the next street, you all are the most cautious you've ever been in your life. No sound made, no foot step unaccounted for. You move as a unit. This lasts until the end of the block. You all huddle at the corner and check all ways thoroughly. These open spaces are death traps. Anything can come from any where. After a minute of seeing nothing, you move ever westward, towards your goal.

Each block you handle with the same efficiency. The time you all are making is amazing, but these are amazing circumstances. Luck has come back to greet you again, lost friends that fall from favor, embraced again. While the devastation staggering, and the reminder of lost souls constant with the continuous folded stack of clothing ever present... you can't help but to feel bless that the group hasn't encountered any thing for a while.

When you get to Second Avenue, Brent tells you that you only have a block to go up North. There are no problems. You make it onto his street with ease.

However... you do get a shock.

Being so close to the water, these apartment buildings go for a high price. In fact, you have to be rich just to think about rent or owning here. Even if you couldn't directly see the water because of the last row a buildings before the river itself, you'd pay through the nose just to be that close.

The problem is... you can see to the water. And to Roosevelt Island. These buildings are demolished. Same on Roosevelt Island. Even buildings on Brent's block, closest to the water are damaged, some look on the verge of collapse. That Coffin thing couldn't have done this. Neither could those stampedes... what then...

"Molly..."

Brent takes off into a dead heat towards the River. Your heart starts to beat. Please, you bargain with anything that's listening, please don't let Molly be in these buildings. Please let us have this. We deserve this...

You are at the last two buildings on this block. The building at the corner looks like if a bird lands on it, it will come down. The Building before that is still sound. Your prayers have been answered, as Brent goes onto the latter building, keys in hand to unlock the door.

Flights of stairs means nothing to him. He takes them with ease. You, on the other hand, wish you paid more attention to the stair machine in the gym. Raph's taken Lincoln as to give the others as easier time of it, but he looks like he's suffering as bad as you. Hell, at least he has an excuse. He's carrying about a good 160 pounds of deadweight.

Brent knocks down the 10th floor doorway and takes and immediate left. Two doors door, he yells "MOLLY!!"

It's a tense moment, those who made it up are waiting with bated breath to hear for a response.

"MOLLY!!!!!!"

Please...

"BRENT?!"

Half way between blubbering and laughing for absolute joy, Brent reaches for the door as it opens by itself. In the doorway stands a bespectacled pale woman (must be British) about a few inches shorter than him with a really innocent beauty about her, lost in the abject terror she must have suffered, sitting here all these hours alone crying to herself. The Embrace between these two is enough to restore your faith in the world. It is pure, it is real, and it is powerful. Brent's mixture of sobbing and joy passes freely through Molly, as words can't even begin to describe the moment they are having.

You feel a playful tap at your shoulder. You turn around to see a warm smile on Raph's face. His large hand pats you on the shoulder as a congratulations. You accept it with a smile of your own. Behind him, Nicolette is starting to cry herself. Bobby probably would be more moved, but she's struggling with Lincoln with Tina... who can sense the nice moment, but the whole world is kind of on her shit list right now.

Brent ushers you all inside. It is the most amazing feeling to be in this room at the moment, even without the power on. You feel normal. You don't have the guns on, no weapons. You feel like you're at a party with friends. Molly and Brent haven't left each other's embrace, and you just want to thank them for it. Bobby has taken to bringing Tina up on what you've all done so far. Tina takes it... as well as anyone could. But it's a very hard subject to take in

But on the bright since, Lincoln is finally awake. He's groggy, but he's coherent. Also, Nicolette long since asked permission to make tea and everyone enjoys a cup with some snacks. A good thing too, you know you were all running on adrenaline and you now needed something real to keep you going. Cake's good, but you probably should have went the Raph route and made yourself a turkey sandwich with mustard also. 'Mayo is the tool of the man to keep you fat' you found out from him, and you all laugh. It IS a party. Maybe it was all a mistake. You did meet your friends in the city, you got really really drunk or someone slipped you something. This was an acid trip and you're coming down. Oh God, please let that be the case.

You pushed your luck to ask for that.

You hear the telltale shrieks of a stampede. Bobby drops her cake and grabs her stun gun. Raph grabs his Submachine gun... but holds on to his sandwich. Your shotgun is in behind on the kitchen counter, but it doesn't matter anyway. It's coming from the street. You get up to look outside. Yeah, they are on first street now, moving by the rubble and debris of the fallen buildings that should have blocked your view of the river. In fact, now that you think about it, you look North as that's the only view this window can afford you. Almost every building by the water is crumbled or damaged enough that they are soon about to fall.

"Hey, Molly, what happened to the... Molly?" She is white as a Ghost with Brent trying to soothe her. She has her hands over her ears and muttering to herself, begging a nameless deity or force for this not to happen again. Brent looks at you and you shrug, saying it's only about fifteen of those diseased.

"Fifteen? Baby, don't worry about them. We've handled more than that to get to you. We can take down fifteen easy. Do you see what we're packing? They won't bother you. You're safe."

Molly falls into muttering now. The Poor dear must have seen a lot to make her like this. Alone. She's not even forming words any more. Not that it would be easy to hear her, the stampede's shrieking is getting louder. You almost want to yell out the window to shut up. That's what you'd do even a day ago.

"I know this doesn't sound good, but I think we should try to get into other people's apartments. Like the Verizon Building had electricity? We need to salvage stuff like batteries and see if anyone has anything better. Lincoln, do you think you could..." Nicolette trails off, not wanting to commit to asking.

"In my sleep, little lady. I'm just going to need a little help walking..." The whole group looks at Raph. Raph looks at Bobby. Bobby looks at Raph. Raph relents.

"I'll come too. Do you have have a laundry cart or something to bring stuff back in," Bobby asks Brent who's still in the process of calming down Molly. He nods to the entry closet, where Bobby finds exactly what they are looking for. Raph gives a shoulder to Lincoln who's moving a bit more readily under his own power. Nicolette decides to come along also. She's just opened the door when Brent stopped them.

"Hey, all the way down the hall on this side, there's a family who were trying to go green. The father showed me his new solar powered generator. The thing worked like a charm. That should be your first stop." Nodding, the group made their exit.

Molly didn't get better. The shrieking didn't stop. Brent asked you to help regale her with your trip here, trying to let her know that they could handle it. But she wasn't listening. The sobbing just kept coming. Tina looked... uncomfortable. News of what the world became didn't seem to suit her very well.

"You guys don't get it!" Molly finally yelled out, tears soaking her cheeks. "Those things bring IT."

It?

You are rocked by another explosion. It's been a while since one occurred. You get back to your feet and look out the window. What you see drains all the color from your face.

It's not an explosion. It's an appendage. Reaching out of the water and planting itself on the street. The paw... foot... whatever it is seems to be the size of a city bus, easily. It is attached to a forearm that's around 3 and a half stories tall, with an upperarm bent the opposite way at the elbow of normal flexion. Another paw meets the street with an earth shaking thud. Although still submerged, you can see the top of it's... something. Whatever it is, it's shaped like the dome of a stadium, just no where as large. But like a dome, it parts. Inside there's a... webbing of flesh? it's the best way to put it. Like a strainer by made of living tissue. In the middle of the opening stands a knob of flesh. Before you can even begin to surmise what it is, The knob of flesh shoots out stories up into the air and swings at the shrieking stampede, sticking them on it. The.. thing slowly retracts it's probe, leaving those Diseased still awake after the mighty blow to struggle fruitless to get free. It has them like super glue. The last you see of the diseased is the probe dropping the members of the stampede on the webbing, as the dome closes.

It's prey captured, the thing has no need for the surface, retreating back into the waters swimming North towards harlem.

You drop down on your ass. What... what...

A few seconds later, the group opens the door. They have the solar generator and some food. They say the skyline that leads to Queens is ok, but the Queensboro bridge must have been damaged by the thing. It's shaky, but it's standing for now.

This puts a new twist on things.

Option 1.) Stay here and just cower for a bit.
Option 2.) Revisit the Path to New Jersey Plan
Option 3.) Haul ass back to the station to get more ammo. The further inland you can get, the better. (1-10 evens/odds)
Option 4.) Stick with the boat idea, but take the Sky line (just a sky car connecting Manhattan and queens, you saw it in the first Spiderman movie) to Queens and make your way to Long Island from there. (1-10 evens/odds)
Option 5.) Stick with the boat idea, but Queensboro Bridge over. (1-10 evens/odds)

The room is a nervous panic, and that's just a nice description. There is tangible fear in the air. A creature that defies logic, even more so than the coffin-back has appeared and knocked you way down the list of dominant species that walk this earth. The guns in your hands might as well be harsh words compared to what that monstrosity could probably take. What now?

You look at faces that define hopelessness. Brent, a man of science, could not see what you all witness, but he wears a mask of astonishment. Prayers and curses take the place of the jovial merriment you all immersed yourselves in just a few minutes ago. But then, a few minutes ago was a reality ago. This new reality is simply imposing with it's how futile your lives seem. You can not win against that. You might as well...

No. No, you just can't. Not you also. If everyone's spirits are broken, you'll just wait here for ever. And what then? A stampede finds it's way up here? Will you even fight it off, or will you silent thank it for taking you away?

You weren't raised a quitter. And more over than that, you came this far. If you were going to die, you should have gave up at the ticket booth. You're in this now. And so are they. And you will be damned if you'll lay down and let things swallow you whole without making it pay first.

You find yourself standing. The room silences itself. Even outside seems to be devoid of it's new cacophony. You don't know what you're going to say, but you are going to say it. "Let's go." You make your way to your shotgun. You're.. semi disappointed that's all you came up with.

"Did you SEE that thing? We... are you going to fucking blast it's head off with that gun?! Think... what the hell are we going to do? Are we going to out sail that on a boat?!" Lincoln steadied himself against the couch for that. Good that he did. It's given you something to say.

"So, you're back in the land of the living just to turn over and die, right? Did we say 'Oh, Lincoln's knocked out. It'll be harder to carry him around and live. Let's leave him here'? No. We fought. We each carried you and fought through hordes of them. Yeah, the boat idea is lost now. I get that. But there's an entire country out there that's not tied to this river. And I gotta thing that thing needs to stay in the water, or we all would have been dead by now. So, we stay out of the water and get out of Manhattan."

"And how do we do that?" A fair question from Tina. You nod your head towards Nicolette.

"She had a good idea. The path line. A straight shot to New Jersey. We're in, we're out. We find a better place to hold up, or hopefully, it's just contained here. We don't even know, the army could be fighting the creatures off as we speak. Look, we don't know the whole story. We don't know each just to give up and let death come. Hell, I could be wrong about the thing needing water thing. And if I am, do you want to be on the other side of the island when it comes on land, or do you want to be here hoping it doesn't bother with this building?"

That got them. No one wants to die like... that. Being eaten alive. One by one, they stand up. Even Molly gets to her feet, finding strength not being the only person left alive any more.

Everyone busies themselves with preparing to leave the apartment for Good. Brent, however, breaks the two of you away and speaks to you in a hushed whisper.

"Listen, what you said about the military... if Manhattan is the only place infected with this, and we are fighting it off... as soon as they see that creature, Manhattan will be consider an acceptable loss of the good of the United States. They will try to wipe this place off the face of the earth. If that's the case, it might be more about finding an underground bunker and stocking the hell up before it drops."

Shit... "Well, how will we know?"

"The Verizon building. I can call a few people and get the gist of what's going on. If we're clear, let's head for the Path and never look back. If we're not... I know of some places here in Manhattan that we can bunker down. There are some... interest here that if another 9/11 happened, important people with important documents can hide in relative safety. But just to be on the safe side, we might want to stock up before we hit Verizon. That might mean splitting up."

Option 1.) Screw it, Brent might be right, but all the more reason to get out of Manhattan quicker (1-10 evens/odds)
Option 2.) Brent knows a lot about how these things operate. And if he's right and the army is fighting this, better to know the info. Go to Verizon as a group. (1-10 evens/odds)
Option 3.) Really bad situation, every precaution must be took. Split the gang up and meet back at Verizon once you have the news. (1-10 evens/odds)
Option 4.) Ammo. Whatever happens now, you have to be sure you can kill whatever needs to be killed. Police stations (1-10 evens/odds)

OH SHIT!  THE STAMPEDE!  THEY GOT REV!

Quick, we need to form a team to go to NYC to save him!  If only we had someone like Brent with us.  So strong and handsome and smart and lethal...

Option 3, 8 odds.  If nothing else, the winner will be weakened from battle and easier to take out.  Then we can safely go on.