Elori and Odeon are hiding behind trees, trying to avoid being seen by a pick up van with a mounted machine gun and a tall guy in a black nike trainer suit handling it heading their way.
Odeon Stealth (Dexterity) Throw (d20): 15
Elori Stealth (Dexterity) Throw (d20): 15
[The gunman makes a Perception (Wisdom) Check vs their Stealth (Dexterity) Check (d20)]
Unknown Gunman Perception (Wisdom) Throw (d20): 10 Fails
The people in the pick up truck fail to see them both of them, they move past, driving south, the direction Elori and Odeon just came from. After a few seconds they're almost out of sight.
Elori whispers "Actually... now I'm curious... I kind of want to follow them." he turns to Odeon, hand to his side and threads of blue glowing energy popping in and out of existence around his hand "We should tail them, they actually have a mounted gun on a truck, so maybe they're expecting someone or something to attack them for something extremely important? Shouldn't we at least find out what they're about."
This guy clearly has a vivid imagination Odeon thinks and states his own opinion "My man it's pretty clear, they're a gang patrolling for people to loot." he stands up and walks towards the road, continuing to talk "Even if we did catch up to them, in their vehicle, what would we gain from that? Get shot? I was already pretty scared right now, to think I need to press on 'till manhattan, I can't risk my life for stuff like this. I'm pressing on." he starts heading to the station again. "I'd prefer if you joined me Elori, I promise you'll face many unneeded dangers regardless." he let's out a smile.
Elori lets out a disappointed sigh, as he watches the car turn and race away "You're right... let's push on."
They go on for about five minutes, ocassionally they hear the sound of the car engine which now seems to be east of them. They stop before another crossing, there's a wall left of them and a single-family house to their right. Both of them can't really see what's going on behind the corners, the Signpost on a Streetlamp reads "Trainstation 300m".
Suddendly they see a rock flying towards them, coming from the direction they're heading towards (North), they cant make out its exact origin. It's landing just some meters shy from them, next to the wall they're at on the left side of the street. The rock looks as if it has some paper sticking to it.
Odeon takes the rock and reads it aloud, so Elori can hear what's written on it "We've been watching you. If you're not with the reds spin yourself around two times and... do a dab." he reads the last words in a tone of disbelief, thinking "'The fuck is this all about?!"
Elori narrows his eyes, staring at Odeon reading the paper in confusion.
[Odeon and Elori roll a Perception (Wisdom) Check (d20)]
Odeon Perception (Wisdom) Check (d20): 10
Elori Perception (Wisdom) Check (d20): 10
A second rock with a paper attached lands before their feet right as they're about to look around.
They both again miss to see where it came from. Judging by the trajectory of the projectile they're almost certain that the rock came from up north, but they aren't able to make out anyone.
They can hear some ratling noises coming from not too far away left of the corner, most likely behind the wall and house they're standing.
Odeon takes the second rock as well and quickly reads the paper ""When distraction arrives, run over here ASAP."
Odeon quickly turns to elori "Wanna run up north like the paper says? If whoever wrote this wanted to off us they would've probably done so already."
Elori nods "I guess we do whatever they said."
Some moments go by, as they keep waiting for the distraction.
Then, slowly, they hear the sound of an engine getting louder.
Suddendly, the same van the were hiding from some minutes ago rushes by with full speed and makes an iconic drift, which they surely would show in slow motion if this was a movie, turning the van around and the gun man starts pumping bullets. At first Elori and Odeon can't see who he's shooting at though, since they're around the corner
A muzzle fire lights up in one of the trees on the other side and a slim guy with black skin tone is sitting in there waving the both of them over.
Their dampened footsteps are barely heard as they hurry over the crossing, the machine gun keeps on roaring, shells keep rattling onto the ground and they see about 5 red hooded figures being decimated. One of them still trying to run away while the gun fire hits him, the others are already lying in their blood twitching, one of them even fell into a trash can.
As soon as they reach the other side they see the man they've just spotted skillfully dropping out of the tree and landing on the ground before them. He looks like he's in his mid 40s, got a layed back smug look on his face and is carrying a sniper rifle on his back. He shouts towards them "Hey y'all! Quick, follow me!" before he starts running up the street in the direction of the train station.
Both of them continue to follow the guy at a quick pace.
Odeon tells Elori "They just took out some of those people dressing in red."
Elori nods "And they spared us. Makes me get my hopes up."
Soon they arrive at a big road and before them stands a one storey tall building made out of brown bricks, reminding one of the color of autumn leaves. Next to it in the middle there's a parking lot and on the right side a small shed. The guy they're following waves towards the roof of the one storey building once they get to the road in front of it and they see another dude in military camouflage responding with handsigns on the roof.
One can already see the train from here behind the building. It's looking majestic: A 5 car long horse made out of reinforced steel.
They move on and once they reach the parking lot, the stranger guiding them, still panting because of the long run, sighs and continues:
"Porter. Denaun Porter. Nice to meet you guys."
[https://i.imgur.com/i8HDdia.png]
Porter looks up to the shed, a man wearing a long tan parka which hangs below his knees, the letter V tattooed in red ink on the side of his neck, sits on the ledge, there's a large backpack on his back. His full moustache and beard gets caressed by the wind "Ayo untouched one, get down here!"
[System Information]
[Player Three Updated]
[Player Three Joins: Barry]
Barry lowers his gaze thinking "What's that? Who wears such an extravagante robe in the midst of an apocalypse, that red-white gradient is way over the top... and that other guy... a poncho?... Could they be..."
It's been three weeks since Barry fled from the estate in Monroe, 30 miles south-east from here. It might very well be possible that Cruise's henchmen are still searching the area, desperately trying to track him down. He looks at the belt with his ingredients hidden underneath his robe "Then again... if they showed up, they'd probably arrive in limousines and wear suits.... I'm probably safe..." Both of these strangers don't look like they're searching for him.
[https://i.imgur.com/9bZyQ6Y.png]
The man in the parka carefully lowers himself from the roof of the shed and approaches the three "New arrivals, Mr. Porter?"
"Well, tramping folks for now" he takes a glance back at Odeon and Elori "didn't have the time to ask these guys what they're doing out here. Shit got a bit hectic, but Bizarre and Kuniva stayed behind to clean up."
The man in the parka nods at Odeon and Elori. "You were attacked? Do you know who it was? There's been rumours of bounty hunters in the area..."
Odeon denies "No, we just arrived" and continues to explain "But I've encountered these red wearing cult that your friends just mowed down yesterday already, when I fell into a cave by accident some 20 miles west of here in the Waterloo State Recreation Area. And then again shortly after, when they tried to storm a bar in Chelsea to chase a girl." Elori nods to confirm the story, Odeon points towards him "We met there by chance and fled together. No clue what those bandits goal is, but we've heard they've been extorting people." he then gives a quick nod towards the man who just introduced himself as porter "We've heard you've repaired the train tracks, so we came here. You seem pretty organized, who are you guys?"
Porter starts to explain "Ahh, the people dressed in red, yeah, one of the largest groups of their faction is the Seven Miles Bloods, they got most of the central states and illinois and indiana on lock." he wonders "Where did you travel from? We're part of a faction called 'The Free People of the North', we're here under order of Em, who's in charge of Detroit. We managed to erect a safe zone up around the D and try to rescue and gather civilians who managed to survive this bullshit. Somehow a few weeks ago we got hold of this place and restored the train tracks. Now we try to get supplies from Detroit as close as possible to our allies in NY and surroundings. We're about six people, plus minus the ones coming around occasionally. Well you already know me, up there on the roof is Fuzz," he points to him.
[https://i.imgur.com/pot8A9S.png]
Porter subsequently continues introducing their members"...you've already seen Bizarre, the guy on the gun and Kuniva was driving. Also we got a guy out on patrol, his name's Eye-Kyu." he goes on and pats the man in the long tan parka on the shoulder " and this is Barry. He joined us around 3 weeks ago, wanted to volunteer because he heard we were looking for help. But what am I talking, ask him yourself." Porter then, as if he just noticed something important, lifts an eyebrow, like he's in disbelief:
"But, wait, you both don't remember what caused all this?"
Elori gives a slight shake of his head, wondering if something is amiss.
Odeon responds "Well no. Ive been living for a while on my own in the forest. Didn't know any details about what exactly is going on out here and didn't have much interactions until I got trapped in that cave... and the time around the apocalypse... I don't exactly remember..." he hesitates for a second. Is it smart to ask, after what he heard from Elori? Doesn't matter... he has to know... "Someone." he finally asks "What caused all of this?"
Porters eyes widen "You guys are serious about this"
He takes a Walkie Talkie out of his pocket and speaks into it "Ayo Fuzz, these guys untouched"
You hear a voice respond "You serious, you checked?"
Porter answers while looking Elori and Odeon in the eyes "Well not directly, but I am pretty sure. They seem so damn clueless and this morning when I spied on them from afar I thought I saw one of them shoot a fireball... but I didn't think it was possible, so I put it off as a fantasy."
Odeon hears this, thinking to himself "So, they really knew we were around long ago... "
The voice in the Walkie Talkie responds "Ok, Gotcha. Bizarre and Kuni are heading back"
He turns to Barry "Looks like you're not the only one around here anymore. We gotta find a new nickname."
Porter then looks at Elori and Odeon, points to the shelter "As for your question, well let's get in first and we'll try to answer it to best of our abilities. Although that probably wont satisfy you, Barry also seemed confused when we tried to explain it to him. Are you down to stay here or do you have to leave immediatly?"
Odeon looks over at Elori "We are in haste actually, but it would greatly help our journey if we knew what was going on here. Maybe its a good idea to stay here for the day, night? If they werent trustworthy we would've already been dead."
Elori nods tiredly.
Porter turns around "Alright, let's get in the others should be coming soon."
All of them enter the shelter, first they pass an entrance room and then they get into a cozy furnished room.
Porter sits down on an old squeaky wooden chair "So where do I start" he takes out a small silvery box with the writing "Cohiba" on it, pulls out a small matchbox from his jacket pockets, he then proceeds to open the silvery box and takes out a small cigar, puts it to his mouth and lights it up with one of the matches. He inhales deeply and smoke begins to fill the room. "It was about 3 1/2 years ago, in the summer of 2020, when this whole mess started..." he takes another puff "well, you may have wondered why nobody told you what happened up until now, fact is we can't." He takes a glance at Barry "I already tried to explain it to him, there's something... preventing us... .. if someone would talk about it, it would consume that person... I can best compare it to an addiction, like that heavy crave you get when you start talking about something that you really like... no... that you need. So people that aren't untouched like you and do know what happened can't tell, else they'd have to actively remember... and that would mean... Ugh... better stop talking about it..." Porter seems in pain for amoment, but he inhales and exhales another time, the smoke is becoming denser and denser.
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
" Well, what I can say or at least as far as we know, the 'Cult dressed in red' that you've met, we call them the 'Reds, they were responsible for... the happening... and that this something happened in New York 3 1/2 years ago" One can see the veins on the side of Porters head pop "...it helped them grow this strong in forces and rule over most of the country, if not the world... though we barely have any intel on what's going on in the whole of U.S., even less internationally. You'd need to find someone else for that or ask the higher ups."
He tips his cigar on the tray and ashes fall into it.
"That's why NY is such a mess right now and everybody's trying to take control. The Reds are by far the strongest group, but we don't know the exact situation there, as it's become such a mess with all types of different gangs, government and civilians trying to get by..." he knocks some of the ash off again " Generally there's 3 large Factions and the government... Those three are the Reds, the Blues and us... The Free People of the North, some call us 'The Grays' also...The Blue coalition, I dunno if you've met them yet, well they... originally were a faction that got together as a safety measure, after the government collapsed in some states... They grew big quick, acting more like a gang and were pretty ruthless in the first year up after... 'that event'... " Elori and Odeon notice how he holds his left palm to his temple for a moment before continuing "... but eventually lately they've decided to join forces with the government and even our faction started working with them. Last time we checked in they were scattered pretty widely, but it's been some month since we've last had an update, so we don't know their exact positions and how they were incorporated into the alliance. And even if we knew, we don't know the both of you very well, so we can't give you any sensible information. The blues may be more amenable than the Reds, but don't be mistaken, I for my part still believe that they have other intentions for joining the alliance... . Apart from that there are some other minor gangs that have formed as a measure of self-defense, some of them are helping us out and working with us, but there's also some other maniacs trying to use the situation for themselves, like this religious group down in Nashville talking about a purge." he shakes his head and takes another draw from the cigar
"Like I told you before we're transporting supplies over there. Also we try to get vehicles out of reach of the reds, that's why you probably haven't seen lots of cars around, we sent them all to Detroit, Em and the others safekeep them to prevent even more havoc reaping across the country... aside from all the other issues popping up anyway... our faction works together with the government, but we run independent from it, on the grand scale trying to erect self-sufficient safe zones and lead survivors there."
The cigar is half smoked now "And, what about you guys? All of this really doesnt ring a bell? You haven't told us anything, what's your goal? You looking for a shelter? If so we're always happy to recruit new members in these times, we need all the helping hands we can get."
While Porter is talking Odeon looks around the room. He makes eye contact with Elori and starts talking. "Me and my friend Elori over here are on a mission is what Ill say." he looks over at Barry and tries to gauge him. "I don't know if I feel comforable yet telling our full plan as I would like to prevent rumors from spreading and reaching the people you call the 'Reds'." I lean in to porter. "I don't know anything about the current world. I don't know if y'all might sabotage my plan when I tell you. All I know about you guys right now is that y'all shoot at reds. I don't even know if what you're telling me is true. Can you convince me that I can trust you?"
Barry looks over at Odeon thinking "Better not tell this guy in green-poncho too much, he still might be working for Cruise people... give him the usual 'Good Guy looking for Redemption'-story for the moment..." he converts his thoughts to spoken words "I'm just a man of faith, travelling from place to place and helping where I can. I don't know where your plan will take you, but I'd like to go to New York too eventually after we're done with our work here."
Elori let's out a moan, that's too much information for him to take in, it's getting boring, they're all worrying too much. He asks "Where is the nearest room? I'm really exhausted." that nap on the yoga matress just wasn't enough.
Porter points to the door "Down the hall are some beds, not the freshest of sheets but it's clean and cozy nevertheless." he then turns to Odeon to answer his question about trust "What a sceptical young man, but that's fine. Like Barry who's a believer, these days trust is a matter of faith, you better get used to it. Besides if..."
Then suddendly someone barges in the door laughing and yelling in a loud voice intercepting Porters talk "Ahahaha Poooorter we did good, so good! These suckers had no idea we were coming!"
As Elori and Odeon look at him closely they see that it is the gunman from before, he's changed into a black tee and is sweating a bit. Behind him is a smaller figure wearing a black basecap and some kind of black band shirt, he's silently lifting his hand as a sign of greeting.
Porter looks at them "Ay Biz! Kun! Welcome back!". The gunman, that was just called Biz, then goes on "Yayaya! I see you made some new friends! But more importantly..." he turns to Odeon and Elori " Did you do it? Did you do the dance? Like, turn, turn, dab?"
[https://i.imgur.com/ObAzw98.png]
[https://i.imgur.com/Yu02cWg.png]
Odeon who's still looking at Barry, thinking 'What is that dude about? He got powers too, right?', looks up in bewilderment as the men storm in and ask if he danced "I'm sorry... what?"
The guy that was just called 'Biz' repeats in a strict voice: "I said, did you turn, turn, dab?"
Odeon looks at 'Biz' straightfaced and repeats the move that Elori and him have done outside "There, am I clean?"
Elori looks baffled at the situation happening.
"Ahahaha" he starts laughing "You's a funny guy! I meant like before on da street! I couldn't see it because I was busy getting those Reds into my sight. Ayo Kun did they do it?" he asks the guy in the baseball jersey next to him.
Porter sighs "Yaya... Bizarre you won." He reaches for his pocket, takes out the silvery case again and throws Bizarre one of the cigars "there you go."
Bizarre catches it mid-air "Ahh thanks my man, how I missed this!" He lights it up and contently inhales with a smile on his face.
Odeon let's out a laugh. This is a funny bunch at first glance. But still... they're strangers.
He then again adresses Porter, whom he assumes to be the leader. "Listen up, if you are on my side it's also in your interest to not know our goal. We just need transportation to Detroit, ." he looks over to Elori who is barely awake. "I however could use a bit of extra manpower." he looks over to Barry. " I could use one of yall on my journey." before pointing at him "Join us and I will tell you our goal. It will all make sense then, it is in your best interest too, I will explain." In his mind he thinks that another 'Untouched' alongside them will surely raise their survival chances and maybe this guy knows more about the mysterious powers and amnesia they acquired.
Barry carefully surveys Odeon. "What business do you have in Detroit? It might be against your plan to tell me, but I need to know at least something before I agree to anything." What does this weirdo want from him? Besides, he already planned to go to New York, joining the next supply run, it would be counterproductive to stay in the region. 'They' could catch him.
"Detroit is just a part of our journey, we will continue from there." with that being said Odeon takes another glance at Barry, taking in his clothes. "You are a man of faith, I am willing to trust you." he smirks "If you get cold feet you can stay inside the train and simply head back. I am willing to believe you won't tell others since you're 'a man of faith'. What you say?" he says with a provactive tone in his voice.
Barry considers Odeon's proposition for a moment. "Why waste all that time, when you can tell me right here and now? We can do so privately, no one else needs to hear. That shouldn't be a problem since you apparently trust me, right? I'm not coming along to Detroit without knowing what's up first."
"Fair enough" he lets out a laugh "Ok I will tell you privately once we leave this room, but all of this stands or falls based upon the following..." he looks over to Porter. "Are we allowed to board the train tomorrow?"
Porter responds "Well, we planned to take the supplies on the train in direction of NY in two days if everything goes well. I can't say for sure when... if we return.. I guess you want to get to Detroit to get a vehicle? That might be possible if you come with us after we return, else I don't think Em and the guys would allow you to, they're really strict bout that.
But, how about this, you board the train with us and help us get the supplies over there and we'll talk to our allies there and see what we can do? If you're really have a plan to solve this mess I think it's in our interest too to help you."
"I think we have a deal." I think for a second. "You guys have a working train track that gets yall to NY? Or do you bring the supplys to NY by vehicle after arriving in Detroit? I'm curious."
Porter, Kuniva and Bizarre all start to laugh at the same time. Bizarre chuckling says "You're not a geographical genius are you? Detroit lies in the East, NY is south east of us and theres a freakin huge lake between both, it would be double the work for us to get the supplies through the north, that's why we go south. Actually we got some allies in Cleveland who're securing the surroundings so we can pass safely there and restock or rest if we have too. Can't say for sure how far we'll get and what part of the tracks are still intact, but last time we got real far like up to Denville. From there our allies take the stuff either by Horseback or via cars. Like I said we usually never know what to expect on these runs. This time we've planned to go farther. Oh yeah and we've got some medi..."
Porter puts his palm in front of Biz mouth "Shh... quiet... they're still strangers... we can trust them for now, but stop it will all that sensitive information."
Odeon understands the cautious behaviour "Fair enough. I never pretended to know shit about geographics." he laughs "But alright like I said we got a deal." he glances at Eloris limp sleepy stance "I think we should head for the beds and get some sleep. Follow me Barry and Ill enlighten you too. We'll talk more tomorrow." he makes hand motions towards Elori and Barry, afterwards stands up and walks towards the beds. "Its this way right? I wish the rest of yall a good night." throwing up a peace sign in the process.
Kuniva waves silently, Bizarre tells you all "Well I'm going up to the roof to give Fuzz some company on his nightwatch" you see Bizarre going up the stairs leaving a trail of smoke behind.
Porter like "Well that's fine for me, you earned your sleep, have a good rest, I'll be following soon."
While moving towards the bed Odeon begins to guess how long it'll take to reach New York, if he has to wait another days, is that a big time loss? He has to find out more about 6ix9ines condition.
As he taps into his connection to 6ix9ine Odeon can hear him talk in a calm voice
"Luke 17:3 If your brother or sistersins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them."
Odeon needs to know if 'he' can hear him "1... 2.. 1... 2... Test.. Test"
6ix9ine responds surprised "Oh God is that you? I never thought this would work, looks like those street church guys weren't all that much a pack of fools. This shit hard" "
Odeon feels sorry to disappoint him "Nah man its me sadly, hey could you tell me for how much time you got food left? I need to know how much time we got."
6ix9ine sounds sorrow "Oh man, all this praying... I thought he'd finally responded to me... then again..." Odeon can hear him get up and a metallic noise resounds in the background "Lemme check a sec... yup still got food left, there's a trolley with canned food in front of the bars i can slip my hands through and I also got a massive stash of potatoe chips left under my bed and waters still running on tap. I guess I'll be fine for another two weeks or so, but I think the loneliness is getting to me, are you really real or am I going mental?"
Odeon smirks "Im actually real, you'll find out within two weeks. Don't worry." He finishes the call. Two weeks it is then before he runs out of food. Damn. Why wasn't he able to connect to him any sooner?
Barry joins Odeon on his walk up "So... what's this plan of yours?"
Once they enter and close the door to the bedrom Odeon begins to explain his plan "I want to free 6ix9ine, who is actually alive instead of dead as everybody probably presumes by now and then have him announce on radio he's alive to unite the people. That's the short version of it. Can't tell any details on how and why this will work." Odeon again hopes that these pieces of information will suffice to convince another person.
Elori enters the room and Odeon continues "'He' got about 2 weeks worth of food left. Barry... are you down to follow us until Manhattan and free him?"
Barry listens to Odeon's plan. He can't be talking about that rainbow-haired fool that was clowning around when there still existed the internet, can he? Whatever. Let's see what's in it.
"The faith teaches us that it is wrong to leave a fellow man to die, so there is nothing left but for me to help you in this task... The faith also requires funds to continue operating, just like any other institution. I trust that I will be properly compensated once the job is done?" Let's hope this green-poncho with this lunatic plan at least has a fortune to spare, might help to get the research running...
"I feel like 69 will greatly compensate us for saving him, and if not then the world population for saving them. You will be compensated if we succeed, I am sure." Odeon smiles.
"I'll hold you to that." Let's hope that rapper got some money, else why would this green-poncho dude risk his life for that guy, he's clearly working on behalf of that 'rapper'. Save the world population with that plan? Yeah. Alright. Whatever. Barry moves over to his bed, getting ready to sleep.
Odeon and Elori prepare to head to bed as well.
"Hey, they've got those cheap coloured toothbrushes here! Look! They're still wrapped in plastic!" Elori shouts in a sudden burst of excitement, before brushing his teeth.
Odeon looks around, the facility looks pretty clean, even the shelf with the hygenic utensils on it and the mirror above the washing basin don't have a speck of dust on it. Seems like Porter and the guys are well organized.
The sun sets, it became night again and all of them fall asleep and have some needed stressfree hours of rest.
Night 3