The service tunnels bleed into the lower levels of the Western Barracks. Seth pauses, his chest heaving, listening to the rhythmic thud of the infirmary door being battered from the other side. The air is thick with the scent of ozone and rot.
Seth
The barricade is buckling. If that door gives way, the horde floods the tunnels and we are trapped like rats.
Miller
Seth, we need to move, now! The weight of them is too much for these hinges.
Seth turns his gaze to Scout. She is huddled near a stack of empty, rusted crates, her knuckles white as she grips a jagged piece of rebar. He realizes the tunnels won't hold them for long. He motions toward the maintenance ladder leading upward to the ventilation shaft.
Seth
Scout, move! Miller, lay down cover fire. We’re heading for the surface. We leave this sector behind.
+ Story Quest Added
Escape the Western Barracks
“We climb out of the tunnels and make it to the kingdom”
SUCCESS (Good Athletics, rolled +1)
Seth lunges for the ladder, his muscles coiled and reactive. He grabs the rung, hauling his weight upward with explosive speed. Below him, the infirmary door groans, metal screeching as the barricade finally collapses, spilling a wave of grey, shifting corpses into the corridor. Miller fires short, controlled bursts from the AK-47, the muzzle flashes illuminating the desperate faces of the group as they scramble upward.
Seth
Close. Too close. If we hadn't made this transition, the horde would be chewing on our heels right now.
They crest the shaft, bursting out into the cool, biting air of the surface courtyard. The Kingdom's outer wall stands ahead, a beacon of safety against the encroaching darkness. Miller keeps his rifle trained on the hatch they just exited, his chest heaving. Scout is trembling, but she is safe.
Miller
We made it. But they know we’re here now, Seth. You heard the radio chatter before the breach. Do we make a break for the gate, or do we double back and thin their numbers before they find our trail?
Quest Complete
Escape the Western Barracks