Rhea reaches the suburban cul-de-sac as dusk settles over abandoned homes. Undead press between parked cars and porch steps, their shuffling gathering into a tightening ring.
Near a toppled mailbox, a weary middle-aged man in a mud-streaked green jacket holds a crossbow on a restrained boy. The child is school-aged, pale, and trembling, with taped wrists and a red hooded sweatshirt.
the weary survivor
Stay back! You do not understand what he is. He is immune, and that makes him a target.
the weary survivor
If the dead find out, they will come from every street. If he gets bitten, he could turn. This is the only mercy left.
The man raises the crossbow fully, bracing its stock against his shoulder. Behind him, a garage door buckles as bodies crowd the house beyond.
the restrained boy
I am not sick. Please, I can help. My mother said someone would come.
The nearest undead spill into the circle of streetlamps. The survivor’s finger tightens near the trigger, leaving only a heartbeat for Rhea to change what happens next.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the weary survivor’s cooperation in protecting the immune child
✓ Quest Accepted
Find the immune child’s mother
“Has his mother reached this cul-de-sac?”
NO (Unlikely, rolled 84)
The cul-de-sac holds no sign of the restrained boy’s mother. Empty porches, abandoned cars, and the tightening ring of undead fill every route into the neighborhood.
the restrained boy
She was supposed to come here. She said she would find me.
the weary survivor
She never made it. I searched the last three houses before I found him alone.
The restrained boy’s gaze darts past the weary survivor toward the dark driveways, searching faces that are not there. The garage shudders again behind them.
the weary survivor
No one is coming for him. And if we stay here, those things will reach us both.
the restrained boy
Mom is not here.
The weary survivor keeps the crossbow trained on the restrained boy, but his stance falters as the nearest dead press through the streetlamp’s weak circle.
“I offer to help move the boy through the undead”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
Rhea Dunn
I can help move him through the dead.
Rhea steps into the weak streetlamp, keeping her hands visible. The weary survivor studies her, then lowers the crossbow and cuts the boy’s restraints.
the weary survivor
You take the front. Keep him between us, and do not let go.
The boy stumbles free and grips Rhea’s arm as the trio pushes toward a narrow gap between two abandoned cars. Their sudden movement draws harsh shuffling from every side.
the restrained boy
I can walk. I will not slow you down.
Rhea reaches the gap with the boy and the survivor behind her. A dead hand catches her jacket, tearing the sleeve and scraping her upper arm before she breaks away.
the weary survivor
The house at the end has a back gate. Move, now!
Quest Complete
Secure the weary survivor’s cooperation in protecting the immune child