The armored transport skids to a halt, its radiator hissing a plume of white steam into the crisp, biting air of the countryside. Seth and John abandon the smoking wreck near a rusted, overgrown barbed-wire fence that separates the road from a dense, quiet pine forest.
John
We aren't safe here, Seth. That noise carried for miles.
Seth
Agreed. We need to move into the tree line. If we keep to the shadows, we can reach that farmhouse on the ridge.
Seth
The cold is already starting to seep into my bones. I hate the winter, but those trees offer better cover than this metal coffin ever did.
They gather their gear, slipping into the dark canopy of the forest just as a distant, hollow moan echoes from the direction of the industrial park. A new figure waits near the edge of the woods, hands raised in a gesture of peace.
Elena
Don't shoot. I've been watching you for a mile. There is a storm coming, and you aren't going to make it to that house without help.
+ Scene Quest Added
Reach the farmhouse on the ridge
“Who are you?”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +0)
Seth
Who are you? And why should we trust someone lurking in the brush?
Seth
She is too clean for a scavenger, and her boots aren't worn enough for a long trek. Either she is a scout for a larger group or she is hiding something she doesn't want us to see.
Elena
My name is Elena. I was a medic at the ridge before everything went sideways. The walkers are thick in the valley, and that farmhouse isn't just a building. It's a target for the Saviors. If you want to get your friend inside alive, you need the path I found.
John
We are soldiers, not refugees. Why tell us about the Saviors?
Elena
Because I'd rather have armed men at my back than dead ones.
Seth
The way she mentions the Saviors makes my blood boil. If she is telling the truth, that farmhouse is a death trap. If she is lying, we are walking straight into an ambush.
Seth tightens his grip on his AK-47, his eyes scanning the dense foliage behind the woman for hidden shooters.
“We are just survivors helping a cause we're not soldiers John we knew each other before the outbreak we're best friends”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +1)
Seth
We are just survivors doing what we can, Elena. We aren't soldiers, and we aren't part of any army. John and I have known each other since way before the world went to hell. We're just best friends trying to stay alive.
John
He's right. Whatever you think you know about who we are, you're wrong. We just want to get to that farm and get out of this rain.
Seth
Her posture shifted when I said that. She looked like she was expecting a military salute or a tactical report, but now she looks almost... relieved. If she was scouting for the Saviors, she might have been hoping to goad us into revealing our mission. She has to be telling the truth about that farm being a target.
Elena
My mistake then. A lot of people around here carry guns like yours and call themselves soldiers. If you're just survivors, that actually makes it easier. Stick close to me. The path through the pines is narrow, and the mud is going to start sliding soon.
The wind picks up, whistling through the needles as a low rumble of thunder rolls across the valley.
“Okay have you heard of the saviors or the whisperers?”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +3)
Seth
Have you heard of the Saviors or the Whisperers? I need to know if we are walking into a trap or if this area is already under their thumb.
Elena
I need to be careful with how much I say, but he deserves the truth if he is going to help me.
Elena
I have heard of them. Both. The Saviors are the ones who patrol the main roads, taking everything they can find. The Whisperers... they are different. They hide among the dead. If you see people wearing skin masks or moving without making a sound in the brush, do not try to talk to them. Just run.
Seth
She knows more than she is letting on. Her hands are shaking slightly, just enough to notice even in the fading light. She is terrified of them.
John
We need to keep moving, Seth. The rain is turning this dirt into a river.
The downpour intensifies, blurring the tree line as a flash of lightning illuminates the dense, jagged pines ahead.
“Your a smart girl do you have a group?”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +0)
Seth
You are a smart girl, Elena. You survive out here, you read the woods, and you know how to talk about the monsters without losing your mind. Do you have a group, or are you alone in this?
Elena
He is sharp. If I say I am alone, he might discard me. If I say I have a group, he will demand to know why they aren't protecting me. I have to bridge this gap.
Elena
I had a group. We were a convoy coming from the coast. We were scattered near the ridge when the Saviors caught up to us. Most are gone. I have a few survivors hiding near the farmhouse, but we are low on supplies and ammo. We aren't a community yet. Just people trying not to be eaten or enslaved.
Seth
She is being honest about the numbers. It explains why she is so desperate to secure that farmhouse. A small, scattered group is exactly the kind of seed I could use to start building something real.
John
Seth, the mud is getting deep. If we don't start moving, we are going to be stuck here in the dark.