Seth, John, and Miller scramble through the service grate and haul their exhausted bodies into the cold, midnight air. They emerge onto a rusted metal catwalk overlooking a sprawling, long-abandoned coastal shipyard. The smell of brine and rotting kelp is overwhelming, cutting through the damp chill of the night.
Seth
We made it out, but the coast is too open. This place is a graveyard of ships and rust. We need to find deeper cover before dawn reveals us to whoever is hunting us.
John
We cannot stay on these catwalks. The sound of the waves masks our movement, but we are exposed targets against the skyline.
Miller
Look. The shipyard dry dock ahead. There is a cluster of shipping containers stacked near the crane. It offers a labyrinth of steel. We can hold that position.
Seth
Agreed. Move fast. Keep your weapons low and scan the shadows between the hulls. If we hit the dry dock, we have a fighting chance to fortify against whatever is tracking us.
+ Scene Quest Added
Fortify the shipyard dry dock
“John keep watching scout the little girl”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +0)
Seth scans the shadows while John creeps toward the rusted shipping containers. A soft, rhythmic clicking sound echoes from the corner of a nearby crane housing. Seth’s sharp eyes lock onto a flicker of movement. Tucked behind a pile of salt-crusted debris, a small child huddles, clutching a jagged piece of rebar like a lifeline. She is watching them, her eyes wide with animalistic terror, unaware that she is being observed by anyone other than Seth.
Seth
She is alone out here. How does a kid survive a place this lethal without getting torn to pieces?
John
Seth, look. The movement near the crane. Is that a survivor or a trap?
Miller
It is just a girl, John. Don't waste energy on ghosts. We move to the containers now or we get caught in the open.
Seth
Miller doesn't see the threat, or maybe he’s just too cold to care. If I reach out, she might bolt. If I don't, she won't last the night.
+ Scene Quest Added
Investigate the child survivor
“The girl we were with earlier it's scout she's supposed to be with elona”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +2)
Seth
Wait. I recognize that jacket. That patch on the shoulder is a mark from Elona’s scouts. She isn't a random survivor. She is a runner who got cut off from the extraction point.
Seth
Stand down, Miller. That girl isn't a random civilian. She’s with Elona. If we leave her, we’re leaving eyes and ears behind.
Girl
Don't come closer. I have steel. I know how to use it.
Seth
Hey. Easy. My name is Seth. We’re headed for the container cache to regroup. You’re Elona’s scout, right? The extraction was supposed to be at the north gate, not here. How far is the rest of your party?
Girl
They... they didn't make it to the gate. The dead were already there. I’ve been waiting for a sign.
John
We don't have time to hold a briefing, Seth. Look at the horizon. The sun is dipping low and those clouds are thickening. If we aren't behind steel in ten minutes, we won't see morning.