I edited the previous post slightly - it was posted unfinished
--

Both Jack's mates look slightly calmer than before. The one outside slightly stiffens from the question, but answers. "Fine... Just.." he falls silent, but then mutters, undecided. "We are loyal." He gulps, probably scared by his own courage. "We have been working for more than two years, we've held the rules - your're that Shadow Cell?"

Jack hits him in the side with his elbow. "Shut the fuck up," he almost hisses. "They're on their own fucking buisness - Jan said to let only them pass and assist if they ask. So shut up and do your fucking job."

Jack looks back to you, gesturing at their grey car, whose driver still hadn't stepped outside. "We have a few good metal pipes, if you want us to break someone lurking in the park. Maybe we'll get lucky and find a fucking priest in the bushes?"

 

"I don't think there will be any need for that, but I would ask that you two pull you're car across the road to block anyone else that tries to come in. Tell them major construction is being done right now. Just be careful about people trying to ram you, don't get caught between their car and yours," I say.

I turn to the others, "any other questions gentlemen or shall we continue on?"

- Connor McCroft

 

"Yeah, we know the drill" Jack grins. "Want us to move further back? We'll tell anyone who tries anything all about the fucking construction works."

 

I look to Jack and say, "Yeah, go ahead and do that, just make sure that nobody gets through."

I then turn to Connor and say, "Well, I'm ready to go whenever. We're going by car, right? No sense leaving it behind."

-Mark Lin

 

I smile to myself, treasuring the efficiency, if nothing else.

"Yeah, I'm fine with going by car."

I cock my head back towards Jack. "Do me a favor and be loud as fuck moving your shit out of the way? Don't want to get surprised by cops." I turn and flash a grin at Mark. "You know how it goes."

-Kyle Huntsman

 

Jack nods. "If something happens, you'll hear."

You get in the car, and head into the park path.
After a very short ride, the path is turning to the side and getting thinner by the second, but there is another way, towards the lake. The bushes are mangled, as if someone forced their way through with the car, and on top of that there are new trails.
There, you quickly see a jeep - there's two men around, one taking off the chain that connect to a black car with a tiny red stripe and taxi sign on top.
There's water leaking outside, and the car looks like it had two passengers at the time of submersion. The windows are broken. There are leaves and branches scattered everywhere.
The cab apparently was dragged out of the water with great difficulty - the ground has trails of dragging everywhere and looks like a mess.

The other guy is currently trying to open the cab doors - they seem to be stuck.

The two "passengers" look like a long hair woman woman and someone that could be Evan.

 

I put my gun back in its shoulder holster and get out of the car. I head over to the cab to get a closer look and call out to the men working on it. I try to look less intimidating than I usually do, but when you're built like I am it's a definite challenge.

"Hey! You guys looked inside yet?"

 

As you get out, the car's door finally opens, and the man who was dragging it loses his balance on the wet grown and falls on his back. There's a rush of water out of the car, previously held inside by the closed door.
The body in the drivers seat, the male one, almost falls out remaining half outside and half inside at the same time. In the low lights of the jeep, the body is now in full grotesque beauty - bloated face from the water looks slimy and unnatural, the hair is in wet strands, horribly misshapen. There are bruises on the face, and the eyes are closed.
It kind of looks like it could be Evan, or at least, someone that looks alike.

"We are checking it now." The man on the ground slowly gets up, looking as if he's slightly sick. "Took forever to drag it out. Where do you want me to put them?" He reaches for the belt to unclasp it and free Evan's body from them - they were a reason he didn't fall out completely. "We have a few bags and some space in the jeep, if you want?"

 

"Just set them down for now," I say and then turned to Conner. "Conner, I think you should check the bodies and confirm cause of death."

I turn back to the other man and say, "I'm going to take a look at the car and see if anything stands out. Kyle mind helping me out with this?"

I then move towards the car and begin to search it for any information.

-Mark Lin

 

I walk up slowly to the bodies, pulling out a doctor's mask as I go.

"I don't know how much I can tell you without getting them into a proper lab but I'll see what I can do."

-Connor McCroft

 

You start searching the car and the bodies for clues. In the night, it's not much you can accomplish, but a few things drag your interest.

There are a few bullet holes in the car, most of those look like they came from outside. There's a guitar on the back seat, from as much you have heard about Evan, he usually leave it in car's trunk. The guitar looks like it was used to hit something as it has a few dents on it.

As Mark is looking around the car, Connor, after a few glances, can already confirm the cause of death - a shot through the brain. Interestingly enough, it looks like he either did it himself - there's still a gun in his dead hand - or someone else forced a gun inside his mouth and pulled a trigger. There's a another wound in the stomach, and the man must have been in serious pain before being killed.

Also, it appears like there is something foreign inside his throat...

Your observations are interrupted by one of the men touching the woman's body (in the lights of the jeep, her darker complexion is more clearly visible than from the first glance) through the broken window, while trying to open the doors on the other side.

There's a loud gurgle-turned-hiss and in a swift motion her wet, bloated hand grabs the man, who starts screaming - her grip is strong enough to break his bones. Only her arm appears to have moved at all.
Evan's body isn't moving either.

I'll soon add more details to the combat situation, but for now, we can have a few regular declarations till I prepare everything - all of you will get some PM's today.

 

I draw my gun from its holster and aim it at the woman's head. I take a moment to steady my aim then fire twice at her skull.

 

Skirmish of the Drowned Dead

Participants

Our Heroes
Jerry, Mark, Connor, Devon, Kyle,
Two yet unnamed associates

Opposition
Two dead bodies in a car.
Assorted things from the forest or lake. Maybe.


Starting situation

Jerry and Mark are closest to the car, Devon is the first one to grab a gun as well as the first one to fire one. The dark skinned woman’s body is the only thing that moved, and is currently crushing a hand of one of the associates. Kyle tosses a stake to Jerry.
There are bushes all around, and three cars, one of those with mostly shattered windows and wet, and there’s a jeep. The ground is slippery and wet. It’s dark, and the only light is from the car lights. There are some strange sounds from the back of the car, muffled.

The first shot fired grazes the woman’s head, but there’s only a small movement indicating the hit. She smashes the door outside with a swift, yet cropped motion – she’s either completely still, or moving with very fast motions that end abruptly. The door is thrown of hinges and smashes into the guy whose hand she is still holding, propelling him forward. There’s a loud crunch, and she stops to halt standing outside, holding a severed appendage. Another bullet from Devon hits her shoulder – this time she recoils a little, and even drops the hand down. Her bloated face is a grotesque smile, and her eyes are shining in the car lights. Neither bullet draws blood.

The things to know:
We’ll have a ~48 hour period in which I expect to have at least a line from everyone. Everyone who won’t post anything until Sunday (I won’t be exact with time, but counting 48 hours from the time of the post should give a good approximation) won’t effectively participate. You can post here or write me personal messages. If a combat will be planned to be more complicated, in the future there might be a few steps of 48 hours each, this one should be fairly simple.
The declarations in this 48 hour period will only be answered (if they will) in PM’s (or, if the time somehow correlates, on irc, maybe.), depending on the first roll I made for everyone. Those with better results will get more info and more replies, if there’s more than one declaration from you till the end of 48 hour period. Try to write longer plans, you can even write a few conditions for doing something if something happens in a certain way.

 

I stare, gawking, for a second before I reach back into the car to grab a couple of stakes. After yelling his name, I toss one to Jerry.

 

The previous post was edited very slightly. You all should have PM's in your inbox. I'll post the final version of the battle after 48 hours or more.

On the allies - the associate with the chain looks terrified as hell, so he'll probably just be standing there for most of the time. With shooting, there is a chance Jack will send someone to check. I'll randomize that after 24 hours.


You have received different info, and for the game to be most dangerous and fun, you shouldn't compare the differences, but no one is stopping you from exchanging a few words (no more than a sentence or two) with any method you want, but please send me a copy or post that here.

 

I fire three shots at the woman's torso, trying to slow her down to buy Devon, and whomever is helping him, some time. However, my immediate concern is the noise coming from the trunk.

I maneuver myself to the front of the car. I start to fire shots through the backseat, attempting to hit whatever is currently in the trunk. I stop firing after five shots. I then reload my pistol and grab my stake from the inside of my jacket.

-Mark Lin

 

I reach into my doctor's coat and remove a trio of stakes. I throw two of them in the ground and hold the last in my hand. I reach into my coat again and remove my .44 Magnum. I approach the trunk from the side and aim the gun with both hands. The stake has been carved in such a way that the handle is flat enough for this to be comfortable. I don't want to have to kill these things, but if it threatens me or my partners I will.

"There's several stakes at you feet Mark, just be careful. The other guys should be able to take the woman."

I yell at the non-Cell members to move.

-Connor McCroft

 

I freeze for a moment when I realise the woman is not just nearly dead, then I shout out to Mark and Connor. "Throw me a stake, you bastards!"

I fire two more rounds into the thing's torso, aiming for its already injured shoulder. If that doesn't do anything I throw my gun lightly towards Mark and Connor, and withdraw a combat knife from a sheath attached to my coat. I then prepare a defensive stance, ready to dive towards my team mates if things get hairy, and stab it in the neck, hoping to break its spine in the process.

If the gun does have an effect that gives me enough time to do something else bar defend myself, I take a moment to line up a shot and shoot it in the skull.

 

I throw the stake in my left hand towards Devon's feet and yell for him to hit the deck. As soon as he does, I start walking towards the woman, shooting at her with my SMG. I'm aiming center mass. I keep myself aware of my surroundings, and if any other dead body starts moving towards me I'll refocus my attention on them. If any of the zombie things gets to within five feet or so of me, I'll drop the SMG, kick it to whomever I think has the best chance of using it effectively, and pull out stakes of my own to fight with.

 

I grab my camera before fully emerging from the car, and scramble onto the hood. After fumbling for a second, I start recording with a focus on the woman, and drop to a crouch.

If the woman comes near me, I jump off the hood and try to stake her.

If not, I continue recording, and try to also get footage of whatever Mark's shooting at if it emerges from the vehicle.