Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse, Thursday, Per 3

[deathsmajesty]

Well, the Danger Shop was no longer looking like an old timey movie theater, which was a plus. Instead, it was back to its classroom configuration, complete with a heavy copy of Gray's Anatomy (the text, not the show) on each desk.

"So," she said once class began, "this weekend is Parents' Weekend. I will be holding office hours, certainly on Saturday, likely on Sunday as well." Because she was not expecting guests this year, and was going to have quite the rude awakening when she discovered that she did. "If there are certain things you wish for me to keep from your guests - names, pronouns, the existence of magic, that this is a dimensional nexus, and so on and so forth - you should inform me of this sometime before your visitors show up. I have remarkably few qualms about lying, but I do need a heads up in the first place. Informing me of any lies you have already told your guests will also be useful. I am not a telepath, thank any number of gods for small favors."

Faintly, they could hear the sounds of some kind of commotion, like several classes were moving through the downstairs hallways with no disregard for the other classes that were still in session. Liliana ignored them. "Moving onto topics actually relevant to the class, today we'll be covering basic anatomy and physiology to give you a better idea of what and where to aim when fighting off the undead." The noises outside their classroom were getting both louder and closer. "Many of you are used to fighting living opponents, who are often hampered by things like pain, bleeding, fear, asphyxiation, adrenaline, and a respect for one's own organs. None of those things will stop a zombie, so many of you may have fighting instincts that are normally useful, but will actually be detrimental in situations where your opponent is undead."

By this point, it sounded like complete pandemonium outside. Running, yelling, people demanding information or calling for order, even a few screams of terror. Or perhaps pain?

And below all of that: groans.

"Now then, if you will please turn to page eighty-three, the chapter on the skeletal structure--" she continued, as a loud roar echoed down the hall. Pandemonium turned to panic as the people outside began shrieking, "ZOMBIES!" and running for their lives.

"Oh my, it seems the school is currently undergoing a zombie invasion," she said, pulling out a manicure set and beginning to file her nails. The tone of her voice was reminiscent of Gene Wilder calling for police help. "Oh no, whatever will you do to survive?" She glanced back up at anyone who was still in their seat, and made a little shooing motion with her hands. "That's your assignment, by the way. Survive. Or, at least die in such a way that teaches you a valuable life lesson in what not to do next time."

Comments

Sign In #4

[deathsmajesty]

What a completely unforeseeable turn of events!

Re: Sign In #4

[stringstothesoul]

Erasmus Boone

Re: Sign In #4

[somethingwithturquoise]

Summer Smith

Re: Sign In #4

[deathtofrendo]

Quinn Maybrook

Re: Sign In #4

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jonathan Sims

Listen to the Lecture

[deathsmajesty]

Or, you know, tune out Liliana and listen to what's happening in the 'school'. Start making plans for what you're going to do and how you're going to get there. Study your anatomy book. Figure out what lies you want Liliana to tell on your behalf. Whatever.

Zombies!

[deathsmajesty]

Okay, so...there are zombies in the school and, presumably, they are trying to eat anyone they can get their hands on. What next?

In The Classroom

[deathsmajesty]

Finalize your plans, talk to your classmates, dive out the window, whatever. Again, people are allowed to use their powers/abilities/crazy sci-fi tech on their own behalf, but Liliana will suggest not doing so if you are fully practiced and competent in their usage. Sure, maybe you can fly up to the ceiling, out of their reach, and escape the zombies that way, but that's boring and you've learned nothing. (If, of course, you are not fully practiced and competent, this is a good time to practice under pressure!)

In the sim, your classroom is on the second floor. The windows are capable of being opened, though there is a drop of about twenty or so feet down to the ground. There is a single door, which is closed but not locked; the window in the door is uncovered and anyone taller than five feet can see through it.

In the classroom, you have access to anything that has been specifically called out as being present, whatever general belongings you'd have with you on a normal school day, and you can mod generic classroom type things that would not be out of place in a modern day humanities classroom. A globe? Sure! A first aid kit? Acceptable. Snacks? If you brought 'em. A toolbox? No. For that, you'll want either Fosse's office or one of the workshop classrooms.

Re: In The Classroom

[stringstothesoul]

Erasmus, pressed up against the wall furthest from both Liliana and the door, was rummaging through his pockets doing inventory and trying his best to focus. He had a replacement shield charm, of course, but then he'd be stuck for an hour and he could only fit maybe one other person under it with him, so...he was reserving that option for a worst case scenario.

Re: In The Classroom

[deathsmajesty]

"Thoughts, Erasmus?" Liliana asked.

While maintaining her distance, yes.

Re: In The Classroom

[stringstothesoul]

"Um," Erasmus said, because stringing thoughts together was hard. "I have a couple of charms that could help..." At least one of them he wasn't supposed to have. The authorities of his world kind of frowned on civilians walking around with things that went boom in their pockets, but, y'know, details. "Like a shield charm." That one was legal, and Liliana already knew about it from when she'd been a nice teenage girl and not a mean necromancer lady with a million freaking souls on her hip. "But it has drawbacks. You can't move once you activate a shield charm, and it's only good for an hour. A lot can happen in an hour, but I don't know if...if we can reliably expect to be rescued by then?" He didn't even bother mentioning that he couldn't fit everyone into it with him, because Mistress Vess had already made it clear that wasn't a criterion.

"I could...it's a simulation, right? If they were real they'd have souls, and I could probably do something? But I'm not really sure." Ugh, did he sound apologetic about it? He kind of hated that. "It would need more experimenting than we really have time for right now, and I've mostly only done one a time. I don't know how many I could...do anything about at one time."

Re: In The Classroom

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon ran to lock the door first of all. Then with a polite "excuse me", he dragged Liliana's desk, the heaviest thing in there, in front of the door.

Then he paused to wonder if using the Danger Shop controls was in the spirit of the exercise or not.

Re: In The Classroom

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana gave him sad eyes. "My manicure," she said, snatching up her kit.

The dragging of the heavy desk was not quiet and there were thumps on the walls and door of the classroom...complete with very panicked, very human-sounding cries for help.

"You look like you're thinking of something," she noted.

Re: In The Classroom

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"I...er...well, I've said what I might do if I were trapped in this room specifically," he said. "But I don't know if that would be considered outside the parameters of this specific exercise."

He was ignoring the human cries. For one thing, they weren't real. For another, if this were real, you didn't know which of them might already be infected, if it were that sort of non-Liliana zombie. For a third, Liliana had specified helping themselves, not others.

And if there were one thing Jon had practice in, it was ignoring the cries of the world when you couldn't do anything to help.

But he did pull up one of the small desks for her to set her kit on.

Re: In The Classroom

[gospel_of_oblivion]

Illyana sighed. "I will take this exercise in the manner it is meant to educate," she muttered, even as she was taking off her hoodie and stuffing it in her backpack. She liked this one, and it seemed like this was about to get messy.

Civilian gear stowed, between one breath and the next her Soul Staff was in her hand, and her cloak was settling around her shoulders as she climbed up on the desk that Jon had just moved to peer into the hallway through the window.

"By the icy tendrils of Ikthalon," she breathed as she gestured. "Entomb."

The hallway as far as she could see from the window filled with solid ice, trapping anyone in the area within it, students and zombies alike.

It was fine. 1) it was like shoving them in cyro and 2) they weren't real, it didn't matter either way.

"I bought us time," she announced, "who has a better idea than 'run,' because I am not teleporting us out to somewhere that could be worse."

Re: In The Classroom

[deathsmajesty]

"Illyana, darling," Liliana reminded quietly, "you may use magic on your own behalf."

Re: In The Classroom

[gospel_of_oblivion]

"This is my behalf. I was useful, no one gets to complain or say 'Illyana, you are not being helpful,' and the immediate screaming has stopped which was annoying."

Triggering, Illyana. The word you were looking for was 'triggering.' It was bringing to mind uncomfortable memories of her own screams, and she did not want to deal with those feelings.

"But, if you insist." Illyana waived a hand, and all the ice in the hallway vanished. "I'll be leaving now."

Another gesture, and a portal appeared in front of her, its twin appearing on the lawn outside. "I prefer my odds outdoors."

If anyone wanted to dart through the portal ahead of her, well, Illyana wasn't going to stop them. She was just not going to verbally offer up its use since she'd been reprimanded.

Re: In The Classroom

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Well, I don't know about everyone else," Summer said, hitching a thumb toward the window, "but I'm posting up by the window for sniping when necessary unless anyone wants to tell me why not to."

She was sure someone would be all 'but attracting attention! But what about ammo! But this! But that.

Re: In The Classroom

[deathsmajesty]

"Sniping with what, darling?" Liliana asked.

Re: In The Classroom

[gospel_of_oblivion]

Oooooo!

"You got something to use?" Illyana asked, interested. "I typically use lightning to take pot-shots at things, but zombies don't really care about getting crispy-fried."

Re: In The Classroom

[stykera]

There weren't real dead people out there so Stark was mostly able to ignore the noises and stay calm.

So he could try to think of something that might be useful. Would he get any useful ideas? Who could say.

Re: In The Classroom

[deathsmajesty]

Honestly, staying calm was a very important step to surviving a crisis.

"Any thoughts, darling?"

Outside The Classroom

[deathsmajesty]

For those of you who intend to make a break for it! Where are you going? How do you plan to get there?

The state of the hallways will depend on how long you remained in the classroom. If you leave within the first five or so minutes after Liliana tells you to survive, there will be a large crowd of frightened, panicking people, though relatively few zombies. You will have to fight your way through the crowd and you do not know what you will find around any corner or in any other stairwell.

If you leave between five and fifteen minutes, it is carnage. There are many zombies pouring into the hallway and it is a target-rich environment for them. On the plus side, that many targets means that you might be able to slip through while they're busy attacking other people.

If you leave between fifteen and thirty minutes, the hallways are a lot clearer. Sure, it looks like an abattoir, but most of the people have either fallen or emptied out, along with the bulk of the zombie horde. However, there are still stragglers, both living and undead.

If you leave after the thirty minute mark things seem quiet. Maybe a little too quiet? Hard to say without going out there!

Talk to Liliana

[deathsmajesty]

Maybe the lack-of-lecture made you miss her!

OOC

[deathsmajesty]

Will pick up pings this afternoon! because have I slept yet? don't be ridiculous Talk to each other, make messy threads, whatever. I'll be back with zombies and other potential NPCs as needed.

Should your character die, it's a fade to black and then you end up reset back in the classroom again. (Because who am I to tell you that you can't have your character get messily devoured if that's your bag? I'm not your real dad.)

Also, if you want an idea of what it's like here's a clip from the excellent All Of Us Are Dead