Episode 8 - Eternal Night
Time passes in a mixture of fretful nightmares, blurred visions, clammy skin, and whispered voices and ministrations.
When Jodi next opens her eyes, has a lot of time passed, like days?
(50/50 | 9[d10]) Yes
She feels weak and incredibly thirsty.
Is it day?
(50/50 | 1[d10]) No, and...
And it's really dark...
She opens her eyes again, and her heart begins to pound. She can barely see.
It's night and incredibly dark. No moon or stars shine through the window.
Did Ron manage to convince Catina to take them? He would have promised his help. Plus he has a nice assault rifle. That always helps change someone's mind to his way of thinking. And he did get her the medicine she wanted. I'll say VL:
(Very Likely | 7[d10]) Yes
She thrashes and shoves the covers off and struggles to sit up. Covers? A bed! Her mouth opens in astonishment, as her eyes slowly adjust to her surroundings. There's a gap in the door, and a small glimmer of light flickers through.
She wonders how long it has been since she had a real bed? It felt like ages.
Her head swims, and her stomach growls. The puncture wound in her side aches but not a tenth as badly as it did before.
She swings her feet off the bed. Carpet is under her bare feet. Carpet! Her legs are stiff. Her joints even stiffer. Then with agonizing slowness, she attempts to stand. A wave of dizziness envelops her.
Does she fall over?
(Somewhat Likely | 6[d10]) Yes
She clutches at a nightstand and falls down on her side, pulling the non-working electric lamp down on top of her of in a crash.
Breathing hard, she crawls to a sitting position, leaning against the side of the bed. She's wearing sweats. Not her own. And a sweatshirt, also not her own.
The door opens.
Who comes in?
Catina?
(Somewhat Likely | 10[d10]) Yes, and...
Yes, and she's followed by Ron with a pail of water and a ladle.
Ron kneels beside her and brings the ladle to her lips. She drinks hungrily, gulping the liquid down.
Catina, sets a kerosene lantern on the nightstand and shoves the remnants of the lamp into a corner of the bedroom.
"Where are we?" Jodi croaks.
"Catina's place," Ron says. "She was gracious enough to let us stay?"
Catina doesn't say anything, but frowns slightly.
"How many days have I been out?"
"You drifted in and out of consciousness for two weeks."
Two weeks.
Did Ron manage to find her a tetanus shot in all that time?
(50/50 | 8[d10]) Yes
Ron brings her another ladle, and she drinks more slowly, savoring the coolness that washes down her parched throat. "We got you some medicine, a tetanus booster shot."
Did Tony help him?
(50/50 | 3[d10]) No
Hmmm. Perhaps Tony has reverted to his normal Ron-hating self then...
Are Tony and Millie still around?
(Likely | 10[d10]) Yes, and...
"Tony? Millie?"
"Oh, they're here alright," Ron frowns.
"What does that mean?"
Inspect / Intrigues
"Something's not right with that guy," Ron says when Catina takes the pail and leaves the room.
"What?" Jodi asks again.
Ron shrugs and slides down next to her on the floor also leaning against the side of the bed. "He's been acting strange. Mysterious. Like," he waves his hand. "Like he's hiding something."
Sounds like Tony planning something. What is he planning that Ron doesn't know about?
I'll use the MAG:
(pie, cake, eaten fish -- something related with food then, footprints, flaming arrow, flashing scimitars, an arrow in a bullseye and footsteps. Ah hah. Idea has struck, but I'll not expose it yet.)
"And Millie?"
"She's fine when she's by herself, but when Tony shows up, she clams up, and it's like the lights go off inside of her." He shakes his head. "But enough about that, don't worry about them, how about you? How are you feeling?" He touches her right hand with his left.
"Better," she smiles at him. "A lot better. Thanks for everything you've done."
"Hey, it's what any gentleman would do."
She smiles and her stomach growls, and she flushes. He smiles back. "Sounds like someone wants some breakfast."
"You have no idea."
"I'll round something up for you. We've been putting food into you. Mushed up stuff, like applesauce and soup. Things you can swallow without having to chew much. It was the only way to keep you fed. Half the time you'd just spit it back up. I'm glad your appetite is back."
"Catina has been feeding us?"
"Sure. I've been helping out where I can around the farm. Fixing things. Trying to maintain security. I sometimes run into town on an errand or two."
"Isn't that dangerous? Walkers?"
"Sure, you get those when you go to the borders of the town. But thankfully, we don't get many lamebrains round here, and we don't have to go often. We have a nice setup here. Our main fear is more from marauders than the lamebrains."
Have they had run-ins with marauders here since they got here?
(50/50 | 2[d10]) No
"Marauders?" she asks, her voice spiking. She tries to stand up again. The room pitches like she's on the bow of a ship in a storm.
"Woah," Ron says, and standing. "Take it easy." He holds her hands and helps her to sit on the edge of the bed.
"Thanks..."
"The maurauders?"
Ron scratches at his short and fairly well-trimmed beard.
"We're just being cautious," he says. "Nothing has happened yet. We're just wary."
"So, I've been here more than two weeks and no walkers?"
Is that true?
(Likely | 6[d10]) Yes, but... +Event: Move / Portals
"That's right. At least, none that get close to the farmhouse. Catina and I check the fence lines every day." He shrugs and sits down next to her again and the bed squeaks in protest. "We sometimes run across a few lamebrain stragglers moving along the fences, looking for an opening, nothing like you'd find in the city of course. But the fences are strong, and we make sure the gate is locked every night."
Jodi sat there for a while. Was she really safe?
"Why don't you get some rest, and I'll show you around in the morning."
Does she want to go to sleep?
(Unlikely | 1[d10]) No, and...
She shakes her head. "Thanks, but no thanks! I'm done with lying around in bed. I need to move around. Can you show me around some tonight? Now?"
"As near as I can reackon, it's still early morning," he yawns. "But sure."
He helps her stand, and after a moment the dizziness recedes. She leans on him as they walk down creaking stairs. She's still dizzy, but getting the water in her helped a lot. Plus, with him supporting her she's able to manage. They're in a simple two-story farm house.
Let's find out what they have?
Horses?
(Somewhat Likely | 6[d10]) Yes
Goats/Sheep?
(Somewhat Likely | 8[d10]) Yes
Cows?
(Somewhat Likely | 4[d10]) No, but...
No, but...Catina does have a steer that they're planning on turning into jerky.
A well or stream?
(Very Likely | 9[d10]) Yes
Chickens?
(Somewhat Likely | 9[d10]) Yes
Ron leads her through a living room with walls of books, a dead TV, to a large kitchen and dining area. There, he lifts a cloth off some cold eggs, cheese, and some fresh greens and pours her a glass of cool goat milk.
Jodi makes a face at the peculiar taste, but eats ravenously at the very early breakfast. She soon feels sated. It's the first real meal she's had in months.
Ron takes the kerosene lantern and shows her around. There's a deck with a waist-high white fence that wraps around the front of the house. The farmhouse is old, but quaintly decorated. It feels like civilization, and Jodi has to force her hands to not flick on a light switch she knows won't work.
Ron quietly escorts her outside. She bangs into the screen door and smiles as the door creeks. He puts a finger to his lips. "Catina's two kids are sleeping," he whispers. "They're nice girls for teenagers. Lisa and Jen. They're a lot better behaved than I ever was at their ages. Hard workers too."
They sit on the a porch swing, and stare out at the dead darkness of night.
Does anything unusual happen tonight?
(Unlikely | 6[d10]) Yes, but...
"What's that?" Jodi asks pointing to a glimmer of light far in the distance.
Ron frowns and he immediately extinguishes his Kerosene lantern. The hiss of gas light gives way to silence. Immediately thick darkness blankets them. They can hear insects and farm animals. "What's wro--?"
"Shhh," Ron says. She feels him move beside her. He leans forward, cocking his head. They listen hard and watch the light weave closer and then farther away in the distance as if moving in a winding pattern.
Do they hear something too?
(50/50 | 2[d10]) No
"I don't hear anything," Jodi whispers.
"Me neither," Ron whispers back.
"Do you know who it is?"
Does he?
(50/50 | 6[d10]) Yes, but...
Yes but he doesn't know details, and he doesn't want to tell her. Doesn't want to frighten her.
She feels him shrug beside her and he leans back. "Probably just some scavengers."
"Scavengers huh? Are they dangerous?"
He rolls his shoulders again. "We've been seeing lights sometimes. That's pretty far away though. Not near our fence line. Beyond the borders of the fence."
"Did they see us?"
"Hard to say. It doesn't look like the light is coming towards us."
Jodi wondered who they were, what their story was. But soon the light seems to fade away into nothing, and she couldn't see anything at all.
She moved her hand in front of her face and saw the barest of movement.
"Sure is dark," Jodi says. She shifts herself a little closer to him, cold despite the sweatshirt she's wearing. His arm and body heat feel warm.
"Everything is dark now," he says. "I remember Old Man Norris back where I grew up in a small town. He was always talkin' about how we should all get off the grid. Get back to our roots. Back to the land. We all called him Crazy Norris. Well, Crazy Norris got his wish in the end. I guess the whole world is off the grid now. Normally, you would get lights from the city reflecting off a cloud bank like this, providing a little light even under these clouds. But now..."
The light of civilization had grown dark. An eternal night had descended upon humanity. Could they recover? Jodi had always believed in the unconquerable nature of the human spirit. Surely the same American drive that wrought the greatest generation and that put men on the moon, and weathered two world wars, could also come up with some way to fight this thing. To bring back the light from the dark night that threatened to consume all of humanity. Surely there was a way to win, wasn't there? A way to bring the light back?
"You really think there's nothing left? No government somewhere? No more military trying to restore order?"
He doesn't say anything. After a while she gives a sigh and she begins to shiver from the cold. All they had were each other. She leans against him further.
He shifts and puts an arm around her, like a comforting blanket. She nestles in closer, and they sit there watching the dark night slowly fade into morning.
It seems to take an eternity.
Time passes in a mixture of fretful nightmares, blurred visions, clammy skin, and whispered voices and ministrations.
When Jodi next opens her eyes, has a lot of time passed, like days?
(50/50 | 9[d10]) Yes
She feels weak and incredibly thirsty.
Is it day?
(50/50 | 1[d10]) No, and...
And it's really dark...
She opens her eyes again, and her heart begins to pound. She can barely see.
It's night and incredibly dark. No moon or stars shine through the window.
Did Ron manage to convince Catina to take them? He would have promised his help. Plus he has a nice assault rifle. That always helps change someone's mind to his way of thinking. And he did get her the medicine she wanted. I'll say VL:
(Very Likely | 7[d10]) Yes
She thrashes and shoves the covers off and struggles to sit up. Covers? A bed! Her mouth opens in astonishment, as her eyes slowly adjust to her surroundings. There's a gap in the door, and a small glimmer of light flickers through.
She wonders how long it has been since she had a real bed? It felt like ages.
Her head swims, and her stomach growls. The puncture wound in her side aches but not a tenth as badly as it did before.
She swings her feet off the bed. Carpet is under her bare feet. Carpet! Her legs are stiff. Her joints even stiffer. Then with agonizing slowness, she attempts to stand. A wave of dizziness envelops her.
Does she fall over?
(Somewhat Likely | 6[d10]) Yes
She clutches at a nightstand and falls down on her side, pulling the non-working electric lamp down on top of her of in a crash.
Breathing hard, she crawls to a sitting position, leaning against the side of the bed. She's wearing sweats. Not her own. And a sweatshirt, also not her own.
The door opens.
Who comes in?
Catina?
(Somewhat Likely | 10[d10]) Yes, and...
Yes, and she's followed by Ron with a pail of water and a ladle.
Ron kneels beside her and brings the ladle to her lips. She drinks hungrily, gulping the liquid down.
Catina, sets a kerosene lantern on the nightstand and shoves the remnants of the lamp into a corner of the bedroom.
"Where are we?" Jodi croaks.
"Catina's place," Ron says. "She was gracious enough to let us stay?"
Catina doesn't say anything, but frowns slightly.
"How many days have I been out?"
"You drifted in and out of consciousness for two weeks."
Two weeks.
Did Ron manage to find her a tetanus shot in all that time?
(50/50 | 8[d10]) Yes
Ron brings her another ladle, and she drinks more slowly, savoring the coolness that washes down her parched throat. "We got you some medicine, a tetanus booster shot."
Did Tony help him?
(50/50 | 3[d10]) No
Hmmm. Perhaps Tony has reverted to his normal Ron-hating self then...
Are Tony and Millie still around?
(Likely | 10[d10]) Yes, and...
"Tony? Millie?"
"Oh, they're here alright," Ron frowns.
"What does that mean?"
Inspect / Intrigues
"Something's not right with that guy," Ron says when Catina takes the pail and leaves the room.
"What?" Jodi asks again.
Ron shrugs and slides down next to her on the floor also leaning against the side of the bed. "He's been acting strange. Mysterious. Like," he waves his hand. "Like he's hiding something."
Sounds like Tony planning something. What is he planning that Ron doesn't know about?
I'll use the MAG:
(pie, cake, eaten fish -- something related with food then, footprints, flaming arrow, flashing scimitars, an arrow in a bullseye and footsteps. Ah hah. Idea has struck, but I'll not expose it yet.)
"And Millie?"
"She's fine when she's by herself, but when Tony shows up, she clams up, and it's like the lights go off inside of her." He shakes his head. "But enough about that, don't worry about them, how about you? How are you feeling?" He touches her right hand with his left.
"Better," she smiles at him. "A lot better. Thanks for everything you've done."
"Hey, it's what any gentleman would do."
She smiles and her stomach growls, and she flushes. He smiles back. "Sounds like someone wants some breakfast."
"You have no idea."
"I'll round something up for you. We've been putting food into you. Mushed up stuff, like applesauce and soup. Things you can swallow without having to chew much. It was the only way to keep you fed. Half the time you'd just spit it back up. I'm glad your appetite is back."
"Catina has been feeding us?"
"Sure. I've been helping out where I can around the farm. Fixing things. Trying to maintain security. I sometimes run into town on an errand or two."
"Isn't that dangerous? Walkers?"
"Sure, you get those when you go to the borders of the town. But thankfully, we don't get many lamebrains round here, and we don't have to go often. We have a nice setup here. Our main fear is more from marauders than the lamebrains."
Have they had run-ins with marauders here since they got here?
(50/50 | 2[d10]) No
"Marauders?" she asks, her voice spiking. She tries to stand up again. The room pitches like she's on the bow of a ship in a storm.
"Woah," Ron says, and standing. "Take it easy." He holds her hands and helps her to sit on the edge of the bed.
"Thanks..."
"The maurauders?"
Ron scratches at his short and fairly well-trimmed beard.
"We're just being cautious," he says. "Nothing has happened yet. We're just wary."
"So, I've been here more than two weeks and no walkers?"
Is that true?
(Likely | 6[d10]) Yes, but... +Event: Move / Portals
"That's right. At least, none that get close to the farmhouse. Catina and I check the fence lines every day." He shrugs and sits down next to her again and the bed squeaks in protest. "We sometimes run across a few lamebrain stragglers moving along the fences, looking for an opening, nothing like you'd find in the city of course. But the fences are strong, and we make sure the gate is locked every night."
Jodi sat there for a while. Was she really safe?
"Why don't you get some rest, and I'll show you around in the morning."
Does she want to go to sleep?
(Unlikely | 1[d10]) No, and...
She shakes her head. "Thanks, but no thanks! I'm done with lying around in bed. I need to move around. Can you show me around some tonight? Now?"
"As near as I can reackon, it's still early morning," he yawns. "But sure."
He helps her stand, and after a moment the dizziness recedes. She leans on him as they walk down creaking stairs. She's still dizzy, but getting the water in her helped a lot. Plus, with him supporting her she's able to manage. They're in a simple two-story farm house.
Let's find out what they have?
Horses?
(Somewhat Likely | 6[d10]) Yes
Goats/Sheep?
(Somewhat Likely | 8[d10]) Yes
Cows?
(Somewhat Likely | 4[d10]) No, but...
No, but...Catina does have a steer that they're planning on turning into jerky.
A well or stream?
(Very Likely | 9[d10]) Yes
Chickens?
(Somewhat Likely | 9[d10]) Yes
Ron leads her through a living room with walls of books, a dead TV, to a large kitchen and dining area. There, he lifts a cloth off some cold eggs, cheese, and some fresh greens and pours her a glass of cool goat milk.
Jodi makes a face at the peculiar taste, but eats ravenously at the very early breakfast. She soon feels sated. It's the first real meal she's had in months.
Ron takes the kerosene lantern and shows her around. There's a deck with a waist-high white fence that wraps around the front of the house. The farmhouse is old, but quaintly decorated. It feels like civilization, and Jodi has to force her hands to not flick on a light switch she knows won't work.
Ron quietly escorts her outside. She bangs into the screen door and smiles as the door creeks. He puts a finger to his lips. "Catina's two kids are sleeping," he whispers. "They're nice girls for teenagers. Lisa and Jen. They're a lot better behaved than I ever was at their ages. Hard workers too."
They sit on the a porch swing, and stare out at the dead darkness of night.
Does anything unusual happen tonight?
(Unlikely | 6[d10]) Yes, but...
"What's that?" Jodi asks pointing to a glimmer of light far in the distance.
Ron frowns and he immediately extinguishes his Kerosene lantern. The hiss of gas light gives way to silence. Immediately thick darkness blankets them. They can hear insects and farm animals. "What's wro--?"
"Shhh," Ron says. She feels him move beside her. He leans forward, cocking his head. They listen hard and watch the light weave closer and then farther away in the distance as if moving in a winding pattern.
Do they hear something too?
(50/50 | 2[d10]) No
"I don't hear anything," Jodi whispers.
"Me neither," Ron whispers back.
"Do you know who it is?"
Does he?
(50/50 | 6[d10]) Yes, but...
Yes but he doesn't know details, and he doesn't want to tell her. Doesn't want to frighten her.
She feels him shrug beside her and he leans back. "Probably just some scavengers."
"Scavengers huh? Are they dangerous?"
He rolls his shoulders again. "We've been seeing lights sometimes. That's pretty far away though. Not near our fence line. Beyond the borders of the fence."
"Did they see us?"
"Hard to say. It doesn't look like the light is coming towards us."
Jodi wondered who they were, what their story was. But soon the light seems to fade away into nothing, and she couldn't see anything at all.
She moved her hand in front of her face and saw the barest of movement.
"Sure is dark," Jodi says. She shifts herself a little closer to him, cold despite the sweatshirt she's wearing. His arm and body heat feel warm.
"Everything is dark now," he says. "I remember Old Man Norris back where I grew up in a small town. He was always talkin' about how we should all get off the grid. Get back to our roots. Back to the land. We all called him Crazy Norris. Well, Crazy Norris got his wish in the end. I guess the whole world is off the grid now. Normally, you would get lights from the city reflecting off a cloud bank like this, providing a little light even under these clouds. But now..."
The light of civilization had grown dark. An eternal night had descended upon humanity. Could they recover? Jodi had always believed in the unconquerable nature of the human spirit. Surely the same American drive that wrought the greatest generation and that put men on the moon, and weathered two world wars, could also come up with some way to fight this thing. To bring back the light from the dark night that threatened to consume all of humanity. Surely there was a way to win, wasn't there? A way to bring the light back?
"You really think there's nothing left? No government somewhere? No more military trying to restore order?"
He doesn't say anything. After a while she gives a sigh and she begins to shiver from the cold. All they had were each other. She leans against him further.
He shifts and puts an arm around her, like a comforting blanket. She nestles in closer, and they sit there watching the dark night slowly fade into morning.
It seems to take an eternity.
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