The finished album rolls through the studio monitors, bass warm beneath the layered vocals. Then an unknown zombie-like screech pulses through the speakers, warping the track into a metallic howl.
The closed studio door shudders as the same screech answers from the hallway. Shadows gather beneath the gap, breaking apart and overlapping while the room's red recording light flickers.
Meech
Cut the playback. Everybody stay still and listen.
Seven
That answer came from outside. More than one voice, and they are moving toward us.
Lucose
The screech is buried in the master. It may be drawing them in.
Rasan
Then nobody opens that door. We find another way out before it gives.
Chuck
The hallway is blocked, but the studio still has power.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get the crew out of the studio
“We Grab anything to use as weapon and prepare to open the door to escape down the hallway.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +2)
Chuck sweeps the studio for anything solid. He grabs a heavy microphone stand and passes a fallen metal stool toward the others while the door shudders again.
Meech
Good. Keep it tight. We move quiet and fast.
Meech braces the stool like a shield. Seven kills the nearest monitor, Lucose gathers the cable loose from the floor, and Rasan positions herself beside the latch.
Seven
The hallway lights are still on. That gives us visibility, not safety.
Chuck grips the microphone stand and turns the handle. The lock releases with a click, and the studio door opens onto the dim hallway.
Rasan
There. Keep left. No sudden noise.
Several infected silhouettes shift at the far end, drawn toward the dead monitors rather than the open doorway. The crew steps into the hallway with improvised weapons ready.
Quest Complete
Get the crew out of the studio
That person's health degrades while the exposure remains unprotected.
Those threats are more aggressive, swift, and coordinated for as long as darkness or low visibility persists.
+ New Item Acquired
Heavy microphone stand
“An alarm system triggers and alerts the zombies now we must run down the studio hallway and fight our way through.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +0)
The alarm detonates through the hallway, strobes turning the dim corridor into fractured snapshots. The infected pivot together and rush, faster and more coordinated in the low visibility.
Meech
Move! Keep the lane open and do not let that alarm split us!
Chuck runs with the heavy microphone stand leveled ahead. Meech drives the stool into the first infected, while Seven and Rasan strike at reaching bodies and Lucose yanks a loose cable across the corridor.
Lucose
Right side! Keep moving, Chuck, the stairwell door is clear!
An infected clips Chuck's shoulder as he slips past, scraping skin beneath the torn fabric. His stride falters, but the microphone stand sweeps the attacker aside and clears the remaining passage.
Seven
Push through! We have the door!
The crew reaches the stairwell entrance together and forces through, leaving the alarm and rushing infected behind the closing hallway door. Chuck's shoulder burns, and each breath tastes harsher without protection.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get the crew to safety
That person's health degrades while the exposure remains unprotected.
Those threats are more aggressive, swift, and coordinated for as long as darkness or low visibility persists.
“I brace my burned shoulder and keep the microphone stand ready.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +2)
Inside the stairwell, Chuck braces his burned shoulder and keeps the heavy microphone stand ready across the steps. The closing door muffles the alarm, but infected movement still rattles it below.
Meech
Steady. Keep that stand up. We get clear of the hallway before the sound pulls them through.
Meech sets the metal stool beneath the door handle without leaving his position. Seven watches the upper landing while Lucose gathers the loose cable and Rasan checks the next flight.
Seven
Upper landing is clear. Emergency lights are dead, so stay close and keep the stand ready.
Lucose
Service exit is one flight up. I can see daylight under the door, but the street could still be hot.
The crew climbs through the dark stairwell in tight formation. Below, the infected strike the stairwell door together, their coordinated impacts making the metal frame jump.
Rasan
No stopping. We reach the exit, then decide what the street gives us.
That person's health degrades while the exposure remains unprotected.
Those threats are more aggressive, swift, and coordinated for as long as darkness or low visibility persists.
“Find a first aid kit up stairs to clean the infection”
FAILURE (Good Perception, rolled -1)
Chuck reaches the upper landing and searches the emergency cabinet while daylight leaks beneath the service exit. The cabinet holds torn wrappers and an empty antiseptic bottle, but no first-aid kit.
Seven
Check the maintenance closet. There is a medical symbol on the door.
Chuck crosses to the narrow gray door and tests its handle. It is locked. Through the wired glass, he spots a sealed trauma pouch on a shelf, close enough to see and impossible to reach.
Meech
Do not force it. Noise carries through this stairwell, and the infected are still hitting the door below.
The unprotected air scrapes Chuck's breathing again, and the shoulder burn persists. Below, the infected strike in coordinated bursts, making the stairwell vibrate through the landing.
Lucose
The service exit is still open. We can find a key or supplies outside, but we cannot linger here.
Rasan
Your call, Chuck. The pouch is here, and the street is our other route.
The failed search leaves two clear options: push through the service exit for a key or supplies, or risk opening the locked maintenance closet while the stairwell remains dark.
That person's health degrades while the exposure remains unprotected.
Those threats are more aggressive, swift, and coordinated for as long as darkness or low visibility persists.
“Try to get the pouch without making a sound”
FAILURE (Great Agility, rolled +1)
Chuck threads the loose cable through the door gap and slowly hooks the trauma pouch strap. His shoulder burns as he eases the pouch toward him, millimeter by millimeter.
The strap tears just before the pouch clears the threshold. It drops inside the closet without a crash, sliding behind the shelf and leaving a brass maintenance key visible through the wired glass.
Seven
The pouch is still trapped, but that key changes the problem. We can open the door without forcing it.
Below, The Infected strike the door in tighter, faster bursts. The dark stairwell makes their movement more coordinated, while Chuck's unfiltered breathing grows rougher in the stale air.
Meech
Then we take the key first. Quiet hands, quick work. Nobody touches that door until it is ready.
Lucose
I can angle the cable again and nudge the key toward the lower gap. The pouch stays put, but the lock is reachable.
Rasan
Do it before the next burst. The stairwell is not giving us much more time.
That person's health degrades while the exposure remains unprotected.
Those threats are more aggressive, swift, and coordinated for as long as darkness or low visibility persists.
“I angle the cable toward the brass key”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +4)
Lucose feeds the loose cable through the wired-glass gap and places its free end into Chuck's hand. Below, the Infected hammer the door in rapid, coordinated bursts.
Lucose
Easy angle. The key is just below the shelf.
Chuck guides the cable around the brass key and catches its ring cleanly. He draws it through the lower gap, and the trauma pouch strap comes with it, sliding within reach of the lock.
Seven
You got both. That pouch is ready the second the door opens.
The key rests in Chuck's palm, its stamped tag readable in the weak light: MAINTENANCE. His breathing grows rougher in the unfiltered air as the stairwell shudders again.
Meech
Good work. Unlock it now, then seal that door behind us.
Rasan
They are speeding up. We have seconds before that frame gives.
That person's health degrades while the exposure remains unprotected.
Those threats are more aggressive, swift, and coordinated for as long as darkness or low visibility persists.
+ New Item Acquired
Brass maintenance key
“I unlock the maintenance closet and grab the pouch”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +1)
Chuck fits the brass key into the maintenance lock and turns it. The bolt releases quietly, even as the dark stairwell jolts beneath another coordinated impact.
He opens the closet just wide enough to reach through. His shoulder burns as he stretches, but his hand closes around the sealed trauma pouch and pulls it free.
Seven
Pouch secured. Get the door shut before they turn that frame into an entrance.
Chuck tucks the pouch against his chest and swings the closet door closed. The infected hammer below in faster bursts, their force amplified by the stairwell's darkness.
Meech
Good. Now we have treatment and a key. Service exit, tight formation, no wasted noise.
Lucose retrieves the cable while Rasan takes the landing side. Seven checks the pouch seal, then points toward the daylight under the service door as the lower impacts continue.
That person's health degrades while the exposure remains unprotected.
Those threats are more aggressive, swift, and coordinated for as long as darkness or low visibility persists.
+ New Item Acquired
Sealed trauma pouch
“I lead the crew through the service exit”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +1)
Chuck leads the crew up the final flight and through the service exit. Lucose takes the microphone stand from him, while Chuck keeps the sealed green trauma pouch secured against his chest.
Daylight opens over the narrow service alley. Chuck's scraped shoulder burns from the climb, but the crew clears the doorway before the coordinated impacts below can follow them.
Meech
Keep the exit behind us. We find cover before that sound pulls anything else toward the building.
Meech takes the alley mouth while Seven scans the rooftops. Rasan watches the service door, and Lucose angles the microphone stand toward the street.
Seven
East is clear for one block. After that, we have parked cars, blind corners, and nowhere quiet to hide.
The crew moves east under gray daylight. Chuck's breathing eases in the open air, while the sealed pouch stays green against his chest and the maintenance key remains in his pocket.
Rasan
There. A loading bay with cover. We can treat Chuck's shoulder and figure out how to kill that signal without broadcasting our position.
“I lead everyone into the loading bay. The setting is night time outside.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +2)
Night has settled over the alley, turning the loading bay into a dark rectangle beneath the warehouse awning. Chuck leads the crew inside, keeping the sealed trauma pouch tight against his chest.
The loading bay door hangs half-open behind them. Lucose slips through first with the microphone stand, while Meech and Rasan check the dark corners and Seven watches the alley for movement.
Meech
Inside, quiet. Get that door down as far as it goes.
Meech lowers the rolling door until only a narrow strip of darkness remains beneath it. The distant screech fades behind metal and brick, no longer spilling directly into the street.
Seven
No movement outside. The bay gives us cover, but the signal may still be active somewhere in the building.
Lucose
Then we treat the shoulder, find the source, and shut it down without waking the whole block.
Rasan
I will hold the entrance. Nobody gets surprised while Chuck gets patched up.
Rasan settles beside the lowered door as a lookout. Seven clears a workbench, Meech pulls a battery lantern from a shelf, and Lucose sets the trauma pouch within reach.
“I treat my shoulder before searching deeper”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +0)
Chuck opens the sealed trauma pouch beneath the battery lantern. He cleans the scrape, applies the dressing, and secures a firm bandage around his shoulder.
Chuck
The burning eases once the bandage is tight.
Seven
Good. Keep the shoulder still while you search. We need your eyes more than your strength.
Chuck closes the pouch and leaves it on the workbench. He searches past stacked pallets and silent shelving, finding dust, shipping labels, and a powered signal box mounted near the rear wall.
Lucose
That box is not warehouse standard. See the cable? It runs behind the shelving.
Lucose angles the lantern toward the cable while Meech shifts a crate aside. A faint vibration travels through the metal casing, steady beneath the warehouse silence.
Rasan
Entrance is still quiet. If that thing is broadcasting, shut it down before the street hears it again.
Behind the shelving, Chuck finds a narrow service panel with a small access latch. Its indicator glows red, and the cable disappears through the concrete toward the deeper warehouse.
Meech
Do not yank anything yet. Trace the line first, then we decide how to kill the signal clean.
The crew gathers around the panel without touching it. Beyond the shelving, darkness extends into rows of storage cages, and something faintly clicks in the distance.
✓ Quest Accepted
Evacuate the crew from the warehouse
− Scene Quest Removed
Get the crew to safety
“Is the alley still clear beyond the lowered loading door?”
YES (Likely, rolled 21)
A faint vibration continues inside the signal box. Through the narrow gap beneath the lowered door, the alley remains empty under the warehouse awning, with no movement between the parked cars.
Seven
Still clear. No silhouettes, no footsteps, and no fresh movement at either end of the alley.
Seven lowers herself beside the door and studies the pavement through the gap. The distant city noise stays low, while the signal box maintains its steady mechanical pulse.
Rasan
Then we have a window. Keep it quiet and use it before anything follows that broadcast.
Meech
Good. The alley buys us time, not safety. Trace that cable and find the cleanest shutoff.
Rasan keeps her position at the entrance, one hand near the lowered door. Meech leans toward the service panel, reading the cable's route without touching the glowing latch.
Lucose
The line goes deeper into the warehouse. If the alley stays empty, we can follow it without broadcasting another sound.
Seven
Then move carefully. I will call it if the street changes.
Beyond the door, the alley remains clear. Inside, the red indicator blinks once, and the faint clicking deeper in the storage rows answers the signal box.
“I barricade the loading bay and circle around”
SUCCESS (Fair Strength, rolled +2)
Chuck drags a loaded pallet across the loading bay and wedges it beneath the lowered door. The effort pulls at his scraped shoulder, but the barricade holds firm.
Rasan
That will slow anything coming through. I am moving with you.
Rasan leaves the entrance and joins Chuck along the warehouse wall. Meech keeps watch over the service panel while Seven remains crouched near the door gap.
Meech
Circle wide, but keep the cable in sight. We need its source, not another blind corner.
Chuck and Rasan move around the stacked shelving, following the cable as it disappears through dust and conduit. The clicking grows clearer beyond the storage cages.
Lucose
I found a second junction ahead. The line splits there, so do not cut anything yet.
The barricaded loading bay stays quiet behind them. Ahead, a narrow maintenance passage opens between the cages, with one cable leading toward the clicking and another vanishing into the warehouse ceiling.
“I inspect the ceiling cable for an escape route”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled -1)
Chuck tilts the lantern upward and traces the ceiling cable across the maintenance passage. Dust marks a rarely used route toward a service catwalk and a roof access hatch above the next cage row.
Chuck
The ceiling route gives us an escape path, but I cannot confirm the hatch from here.
He follows the cable's mounting points with his eyes, identifying a narrow ladder fixed behind the storage cages. The inspection takes long enough for the clicking to repeat twice from deeper inside.
Lucose
That cable climbs behind the cages. The ladder reaches a catwalk, and the hatch above it should lead onto the roof.
Lucose raises the microphone stand toward the cable without touching it. The route is clear, but the delay has cost them time, and the distant clicking now comes in a tighter rhythm.
Rasan
Then we use the ladder if this passage turns bad. Keep the junction intact and move before that rhythm becomes company.
Chuck has a confirmed escape route through the cage row, up the fixed ladder, across the ceiling catwalk, and out through the roof hatch. The lower passage remains open for now.
“I lead everyone up the ladder to the roof”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +1)
Chuck reaches behind the storage cages and grips the fixed ladder. He leads the climb, keeping his weight controlled as the shoulder scrape burns under the bandage.
Meech follows close behind, then Seven, Lucose, and Rasan climb in sequence. The maintenance passage falls away beneath them as the cable junction and clicking disappear below the catwalk.
Meech
Keep three points of contact. We are not making noise for whatever is down there.
Chuck steps onto the service catwalk and crosses above the cage rows. Lucose steadies the microphone stand while Seven checks the roof hatch and Rasan watches the passage below.
Seven
Hatch is clear. I am opening it slow.
Seven lifts the roof hatch without a slam. Chuck climbs through first, and the crew emerges onto the warehouse roof beneath cold night air and a wide view of the darkened blocks.
Lucose
The signal cable ends below us. From up here, we can trace where it leaves the warehouse without walking into that clicking.
Quest Complete
Evacuate the crew from the warehouse
Attribute Upgrade: Strength Fair→Good
Those threats are more aggressive, swift, and coordinated for as long as darkness or low visibility persists.