Sporting goods: For possible protection and weaponry. Also a back pack.

Hardware store: For a crowbar alone, excellent weapon and tool.

Grocery store: Food and water. What more is there to say?

Gun shop: If anything for long range weaponry, preferably something common like a handgun or hunting rifle.

sage42:
Also a back pack.

Good idea. I didn't even think of that. I went straight to a shopping cart. xD

Sports, Gun, Grocery, Hardware seems to be the closest match. I'm tweaking the layout of the mall a bit so this is convenient for the character.

Also, who likes the name Alex for the protagonist? And should they be male or female? This is (most likely) going to be purely for identification.
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I moved quickly to the sports shop near the the main entrance, avoiding zombies on the way. No runners, fortunately. I grabbed a lightweight aluminium baseball bat for a weapon, as well as a good quality hiking backpack and some camping gear, like a couple of knives and some rope. I also picked up a scuba diving mask. If these zombies were infectious, I didn't want to end up like that poor bastard in 28 Days Later.

Next stop was the gun shop, which was surrounded by zombies. I didn't fancy my chances of breaking though armed with nothing but the bat. I barely escaped with my life. That was when I really learned to watch my back.

The grocery store was next, and also choked with zombies, although they were more dispersed in the larger store. I grabbed some bottled water, as well as tinned and dried food. On an impulse, I grabbed a few bags of apples, oranges and carrots. They weighed me down a bit, but I wasn't ready to forsake fresh food entirely if this didn't just blow over.

Finally, the hardware store. There were many fewer zombies in here, and I was free to grab hammers, nails, plant seedlings, a machete and another weapon, although I couldn't carry any boards for barricades. I dropped my baseball bat- I wouldn't need it again. I considered, taking a trolley, but I decided it would impede my progress even more than the backpack, which could be dangerous.

It was time to reenact Dawn of the Dead. I headed for the roof access door.

Choices: What was your weapon from the hardware store? THIS COULD KILL YOU!
a) Crowbar
b) Axe
c) Chainsaw
d) Power Drill
f) Wooden Board
g) Shovel

Your next move will be to climb to the roof and meet up with the gunman.

Hints:
- You already have a Baseball Bat, a Survival Knife, a Pocket Knife and a Machete.
- There aren't many corpses around. Why?
- Most of the zombies you've seen appear to have the flesh ripped off part of their face, usually their cheeks.
- You're currently carrying a lot of gear. You'll tire quickly.

Damn. I am at a tough point here. While we could go Gordon Freeman on the zombies with a crowbar as well as pry things open, we could also grab the axe which would be a better weapon. But, as we already have a bat and a machete, I am going to trust that the machete will last the longest. Too bad we didn't have any katanas lying around...

Crowbar it is.

Chainsaws once against aren't realistic for mowing down zombies and laughing maniacally.

Power Drills, I am assuming that it's a handheld drill and not something I am not thinking of, don't exactly seem effective for killing things.

Wooden Boards have a second use like the crowbar but once you use that, you can't re-use it very well.

Shovels are also multipurpose. But I think prying things open might come in handy. As crowbars are also lighter, this also might be best.

There probably aren't many corpses around because they've all reanimated. If I had to guess why the flesh has been ripped off part of the the zombies' faces, it's because that is how the zombies spread the disease. Through the face. Like face herpes. I have to say thanks for grabbing that diving mask, it will be a good thing to have.

Ninjat_126:
- You already have a Baseball Bat, a Survival Knife, a Pocket Knife and a Machete.

That's already too many melee weapons to begin with. Ditch the pocket knife and bat.

- You're currently carrying a lot of gear. You'll tire quickly.

Ditch the fresh food or eat it now. It'll spoil in a few days anyway.

Also, it might help to grab a flashlight.

EDIT: On the topic of weapons, I'd have to vote for...

a) The crowbar. You're going to need to break open crates or doors eventually. Consider this your master key.

The problem now is that you already have a machete, so unless you feel like carrying two primary weapons you'll need to decide between one or the other.

RaNDM G:

Ninjat_126:
- You already have a Baseball Bat, a Survival Knife, a Pocket Knife and a Machete.

That's already too many weapons to begin with. Ditch the pocket knife and bat.

- You're currently carrying a lot of gear. You'll tire quickly.

Ditch the fresh food or eat it now. It'll spoil in a few days anyway.

Also, it might help to grab a flashlight.

I agree with the weapons statement. You don't need a pocket knife when you have a survival knife, and the bat is aluminum and would break easily.

On the food point,

Ninjat_126:

- You just ate breakfast. However, since then you've rode a bike 30 min into the city center and run for a few blocks.

And this was when we got here, before searching. We're also going to tire quickly. So, any food will make for a good meal later if we get even a moment's respite. On top of that, if we get in touch with the man who helped us out earlier, food is a great thing to have on you if you want a friend. We also don't know how hungry they are. We can always drop some of the food, but keep most of it.

@Norendithas

Good point, but apples, oranges, and carrots aren't exactly filling. A better alternative to fruit would be snack foods such as nuts or dried meat. They're easy to carry, high in protein, and give you a small calorie boost for when you need to start running.

Of course the protagonist already stopped by the supermarket, so we'll have to settle with what we have for now.

RaNDM G:
@Norendithas

Good point, but apples, oranges, and carrots aren't exactly filling. A better alternative to fruit would be snack foods such as nuts or dried meat. They're easy to carry, high in protein, and give you a small calorie boost for when you need to start running.

Of course the protagonist already stopped by the supermarket, so we'll have to settle with what we have for now.

True. If we get rid of food, I'd say get rid of the oranges. Apples and carrots don't have a thick of skins to break through.

Crowbar, because everything else sucks, or is too heavy.

We still need to talk to that guy with the rifle though.

Okay to answer the questions about the character, Alex works, and I would like to see the character be a women, if anything because you don't see many female protagonists in the sorta situations.
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a) Crowbar. As I said earlier useful as both a tool and a weapon, drop the machete, as useful as it is, I can see a crowbar more useful in an urban environment. Also have an Apple, it will at least be enough to keep our energy up in case we need to run.

From here move carefully towards the roof to meet with the gunman

RaNDM G:

Also, it might help to grab a flashlight.

This as well and a few back up batteries.

sage42:
Okay to answer the questions about the character, Alex works, and I would like to see the character be a women, if anything because you don't see many female protagonists in the sorta situations.

RaNDM G:

Also, it might help to grab a flashlight.

This as well and a few back up batteries.

I agree with all statements aforementioned.

Not updating yet.

-I'll update my previous post with some things I forgot to put in and some of your suggestions.
- Alexandra it is I guess. Objections? I'll work on her appearance.
- The fresh fruit/vegetables would last a few days, and I'm sure you'll be wanting them in a few days if your only other food is dried and in tins.
- The pocket knife is in a pocket, the survival knife is the full-on Rambo kind with the compass and stuff. The machete can go if you really want it to, although it's good to have a backup weapon (and if you can carry it, a backup-backup).
- You've dropped the baseball bat to make way for your new weapon.
_ Oops, flashlight. I'll just say Alex forgot one too.

- Yes, I like writing with dotpoints. If you don't like it, I'll phase it out.
- I'm going to increase the difficulty.
- I'm running off the script even more now. The structure's still there, but the places are different and the events are changing. Please forgive any errors.

Crowbar. If it's good enough for the Free Man, it's good enough for Alex.

As surgical as the Power Drill is in terms as a weapons, it wouldn't do any good in killing infected. Also, there is the close range issue of the weapon and the serious need to avoid that distance with them.

A crowbar would be a nice bludgeon, but it works better for close quarters, and we cannot afford close quarters with them.

An axe would be the obvious weapon, but considering we're meeting the gunman, he may freak out... On that tangent would it make more sense to not take anything. It may be reasonable to assume that the infected can use weapons.

Final note: Don't take anything if you can. Otherwise grab the Drill; there's a good chance the gunman may be paranoid, and you'll need to find an alternate route.

Doc Gnosis:
snip

The gunman better appreciate an axe rather than freak out about it. xD

Ninjat_126:
snip

Sounds all good. Things like this usually tend to run off script a lot I have noticed.. My old DM used to just do everything on the spot because our party never followed anything. "What? There's a shady hooded figure and a harmless old man in the tavern? Rob the old man!" type of things.. =]

I think I am going to really enjoy this thread.

Alright. Here we go now. Had I been here earlier, the protagonist would be a male with muscles like balls of twine named John Punchfists, but alas fate is a cruel mistress.

So we've come to a big decision. Despite not having a chainsaw being totally lame, I guess thinking realistically, we should embrace the legacy of the Free Man. Crowbar it is - and name it Oliver. Corpses are definitely being reanimated, so we should keep in mind the age-old double-tap. Probably be sure to decapitate - or, I guess with our current tools, gore - the head. I don't see why having two knives would weigh us down too much, but if we haven't already ditched the bat, ditch it. Now to make it to the roof and meet Old Man Gun.

Crowbar it is. Picking the Chainsaw or power drill would have had you killed by angry runners, while the wooden boards would have slowed you down too much.

Norendithas:

I think I am going to really enjoy this thread.

Thank you! Always good to hear positive criticism.

Benndak:
Alright. Here we go now. Had I been here earlier, the protagonist would be a male with muscles like balls of twine named John Punchfists, but alas fate is a cruel mistress.

I haven't given you a description of Alex yet. Just remember she's fit enough to ride a bike at a reasonable pace for an hour or so, followed by a 300m sprint being chased by sprinting zombies, followed by a mad dash through a zombie infested shopping mall carrying a huge amount of gear.

Due to this, expect a retcon or two. Nothing game changing, just story based.

Also, the crowbar is now named Oliver, and the survival knife is named Desmond.
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I fought my way past a few zombies, finally wielding a weapon that could put them down for good. The roof access door was located in an "employees only" section of the building. I climbed the stairs quickly and reached the roof, where I was confronted by a man holding a bolt action hunting rifle.

"Glad to see you made it through. My name is Jacob, book store owner and part time gun enthusiast. Drop your bag, use these boards to barricade the door and please try not to murder me in my sleep. Your name?"

Choices:
a) Tell him about yourself.
b) Give him your real name, but a fake backstory.
c) Refuse to give him anything.
d) Attack him.
e) Fake everything.

Hints:
- He'll know if you lie and be a bit suspicious. Just so there's an immediate penalty.
- Jacob's holding a gun. Attacking him right off might be a bad idea.
- Jacob is 5 or so meters away.
- Alex's backstory won't give the best impression of her. She's been through a lot.
- Yes, I have a backstory for Alexandra, and will write it down here if you choose to share it with Jacob. (Railroading? What's that?)

Tell him, but remain a bit suspicious because he might not be who he says he is.

True, we never know how trustworthy he is. So I'd say go with B. Sure, he'd be a bit suspicious but if we find ourselves working together that will fade. He might find out later anyways.

So, I say go with B.

Also, can you give a description of Jacob? Like size and age, maybe what he's wearing. Like if he has say, a nice watch or clothing, etc. Maybe even what kind of rifle he has if you really want to get into detail. =]

EDIT: I don't mean to sound like a bandwagon, but I think I will switch to A. After reading some reasoning for it I like the, "Sure we can tell him the truth! Doesn't mean we tell him much though." approach. ^^

a) It's best to be honest in a survival situation, but that doesn't mean you have to tell him everything about your life. Just tell him your name and make small talk over the shit day you're having. Only give him information if he asks.

RaNDM G:
a) It's best to be honest in a survival situation, but that doesn't mean you have to tell him everything about your life. Just tell him your name and make small talk over the shit day you're having. Only give him information if he asks.

I'd hate to go with a "yeah this" post but...... yeah pretty much this.

Just tell him who you are; I'm not sure if you need to go too far into trading life stories, but at least explain what happened in the last couple of minutes.

Also remember, you can always not say anything about your past; he didn't specifically ask for your past.

A). He seems like a cool frood, survivors stick together. Don't be a stranger, warm up to him. And if he ends up turning, we can have a tearful moment before taking Oliver to his facial region.

Well lets see ya option a) since I doubt lying to this guy will do much good especially if the guy is stressed and holding a gun. Yet no need to get into Alex's life story or atleast not at this moment since surviving is the most important task at the moment.

A it is.
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I decided to be truthful. Just because there were hordes of zombies everywhere, I didn't have to start lying to people.

"My name's Alex. Alexandra. I'm a local news journalist for channel 3. Guess I paid the price for not watching my own program when I rode into work this morning."

Jacob explained the situation to me. The first reported zombies appeared at some point yesterday afternoon and they had overrun the city by sunset. He had survived by grabbing his rifle and retreating to the shopping mall after the initial rush had calmed down.

He warned me to avoid any zombies that appeared to be covered in swollen veins and bruises, apparently they sprayed blood everywhere if their skin was punctured. He'd also observed some strange behaviour in the zombies, such as eating their wounded and almost always biting the cheeks to spread infection. I was glad I'd collected that scuba mask.

I gave Jacob my machete to make up for his lack of close range weaponry, leaving me with my crowbar and survival knife. I decided to name them Oliver and Desmond respectively, earning myself a weird look from Jacob.

A few hours later, I had boarded up the main roof entrance, leaving some of the smaller and harder to access doors unbarred for looting purposes. I had also watered and set out the plant seedlings in the sun- lettuce wouldn't be too filling unfortunately. We had to decide our next course of action.

Choices: Again, this can kill you.
a) Loot Food.
b) Loot Supplies.
c) Loot Clothing.

d) Loot gardening supplies (i.e. build a garden bed and collect soil).
e) Loot the gun shop (and fight off the horde outside).
f) Don't loot, seal off the roof.
You can choose 2 from a), b) and c), but d), e) and f) will take up all your time on their own.

Hints:
- Maybe don't think too long term. You're on an unshaded roof with zombies below you.
- Your eyes and nose are covered by a mask, but your mouth is not. Perhaps a bandanna or medical facemask could be useful? Jacob doesn't have any face protection either.
- You have a few days worth of food and water, as well as a couple of boxes of rifle ammo.
- Don't worry about losing your machete. Desmond is just as effective in close quarters and easier to draw. Jacob needs it more than you.

b and c, supplies, can never have too many supplies such as maybe an umbrella and a sleeping or at least a army blanket. Clothing for the bandanna and other needed survival clothing.

We have enough food for a few days, and supposedly the zombies may disperse after some time. Most important thing right now is keeping us alive and healthy enough to fight, and maybe even save some people fleeing for their lives. D and E are both scary, scary options and I fear those would get us killed. F is too cautionary. I say we go B and C, but be careful not to load ourselves up too much that we're too slow to run the hell back up. We might go back for more food later than board that shit up.

Definitely don't seal yourself on the roof. You'll be trapped with no supplies and a horde of the undead waiting for you to jump.

I don't see how well trying to farm food on a rooftop would work. If you start from scratch with a pot, a few seeds, water, and soil, it'll take at least a month before you can produce a sustainable crop.

It may be worthwhile to visit the gun shop later, but not now thanks to the crowd of zombies standing in front of it.

So that brings us down to a, b, and c. Stockpiling food and building up your camp should be your main priority. It would also be wise to change into something more comfortable and practical, but that can be done after meeting your other basic needs. I'll go with...

b) Loot supplies, preferably first-aid or antiseptic. If you cut yourself on anything sharp or rusted, you'll need something to treat the wound. Otherwise, you'll stand the chance of getting a nasty infection.

Next would be to make a basic shelter, such as a tent or canopy. If it starts raining, the last thing you would want is to catch hypothermia or pneumonia. It might be a good idea to find a camp stove or something you can burn for warmth and to cook raw food, but take care of shelter beforehand.

Also, a flashlight would be nice.

I'm gonna go with B and C on this one, cause people make good points.

Though I am wondering if there's an explanation for the zombie horde at the gun store. Either someone's actively defending it and they're trying to get the human snack inside, or they already have and will clear out soon once said defender is a zombie or digesting.

Jedoro:
Though I am wondering if there's an explanation for the zombie horde at the gun store. Either someone's actively defending it and they're trying to get the human snack inside, or they already have and will clear out soon once said defender is a zombie or digesting.

Or taking a 3rd option, everyone who went there before you is now dead/reanimated and the zombies are still dispersing. Imagine a small shop in a mall, packed wall to wall with the undead. That would take some time to clear.

Or there could be a survivor inside. I'm not saying anything. *nervous twitch*

Supplies and Clothing. My brain is functioning sub-par at the moment, so I'm using a cocktail of East Hastings and Team Fortress 2 to keep me alive. Please tell me if I start writing rocket jumps or Spahs into my story at any point.
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I decided to go down to the mall below in search of supplies and clothing. Jacob stayed on the roof to watch for other survivors.

Firstly, I stopped at a pharmacy to collect painkillers, antiseptic, bandages and antibiotics. There were a few zombies around, but Oliver downed them fairly quickly. Still no runners, and still those distinctive cheek wounds. I stashed the supplies in my backpack and moved on unhindered.

The next stop was a clothing store. I collected sunglasses, some changes of regular clothing and a few jackets and coats. As I browsed, a zombie covered in swollen veins and bruises emerged from the clothes racks in front of me. Remembering Jacob's warning, I closed my mouth tightly when I swung Oliver at her face. The skull gave way easily, but the would sprayed a gout of blood directly into my face and all over my clothes. I wiped my face clean, grabbed fresh clothing and moved on, making sure to grab a few bandannas and tying some over my mouth and hair. The bleeders would be a problem.

The final stop was the hardware store again, and a shopping cart full of wooden boards, hammers, nails, paint tins, petrol, a few flashlights and an electrical generator. I arrived back at the roof with no major problems and managed to lift the carts upstairs with some help from Jacob.

Choices: Choose from most to least urgent in the order you will complete them. Some will require trips down to the mall again, but you shouldn't encounter much trouble.

a) Wire up some lights to the generator.
b) Rig the generator up to a bicycle for manual and petrol power.
c) Organise your personal survival kits in case of isolation.
d) Organise your clothing and protective gear.
e) Set up an emergency escape route off the roof.
f) Dress your injuries (cuts and scrapes).
g) Collect more food.

Hints:
- So far, you've encountered Walkers, Runners and Bleeders.
- Prioritize your choices. It's useless having electricity if you starve to death.
- Protective clothing is more important than you'd think. Try not to get blood in your eyes or mouth.

F) Wounds first. D and C) supplies need to be ready. E) All the supplies in the world won't help if we don't have an escape plan. G) Food what more is there to say? A Lights first and makes sure they work. B) then we can set up a more long lasting power source.

Ninjat_126:

a) Wire up some lights to the generator.
b) Rig the generator up to a bicycle for manual and petrol power.
c) Organise your personal survival kits in case of isolation.
d) Organise your clothing and protective gear.
e) Set up an emergency escape route off the roof.
f) Dress your injuries (cuts and scrapes).
g) Collect more food.

Now that I am not on the point of passing out I think I can use sense again. =]

F) Injuries come first. After all, what good will becoming a zombie now do?

C) This will be good in case of an unexpected breakthrough or emergency. Especially once that emergency escape route is set up.

E) Goes with C).

D) Now that we have an escape set up and supplies for such an event ready, we can work on protection. Protection isn't worth as much when you have it but are stuck.

G) We had enough to last for a few before, and now is time to think more long-term.

A) Now that we have everything else ready, we can work on improving our temporary situation.

B) Goes hand-in-hand with A).

I would suggest you go to a sink and wash the blood off, but I doubt there's a restroom close to where you are. Just try not to rub your eyes.

Because you're not going to go back down to the mall anytime soon, it's best to take care of everything you can do on the rooftop first. In order of greatest importance:

f) Get those cuts checked up on. You don't want anything to get infected.

e) Plan an escape route with Jacob. Figure out the quickest and quietest way to leave the rooftop and set up a meeting point in case the two of you are separated.

d) Take off anything you know will slow you down. Jewelry like necklaces or earrings can get snagged on hooks and are easy for a zombie to grab a hold of. If it has sentimental value, keep it in a pocket where it will be out of the way.

c) Double check and make sure you've got everything you need. Take inventory and make a bullet-point list of what you have.

b) If you have any canned or raw foods with you, you're going to need electricity to cook them with. An electric camp stove will definitely be useful if you can find one.

a) Lights will be helpful to see at night, but this can wait until after you've got that generator working.

g) By the time you've finished everything you can do on the rooftop, you should still have a manageable amount of food left. Now would be a good time to stockpile on food and drinking water.

You don't have any basic survival gear like matches, a canteen, or water purifying tablets. Make sure you get those the next time you head back into the mall.

Also, go find a hand-crank radio. It's important to keep tabs on the outside world.

RaNDM just pretty much said what I was thinking in a lot more words, so I'll go with F-E-D-C-B-A-G.