Accept the invitation into the castle
From Create Your Own Story
"Thank you for saving me," you say gratefully. "Of course I'll stay with you."
The pair keep alert for any more zombies as you make your way towards the entrance, bringing along the woman's crossbow bolts. Once inside the castle, your new companions barricade the front door, lead you through a second door, barricade that one too, and take you down a long hallway into a large living room, richly decorated with antique furniture. All the windows have been boarded up, with various cabinets and shelves placed in front of them.
You take a closer look at your rescuers. They are both tall, middle-aged, and photogenic, reminding you a little of your parents. The man stands about six feet with a muscular build, and dark brown hair that is the same color as yours. The woman is about 5'10", with a slender figure and long blonde hair. Both of them have piercing blue eyes just like yours.
"I'm Jack," the man says. "This is my wife, Holly."
"I'm Marina." You look around. "Are you in here by yourselves?"
Holly smiles. "No. There are several other people." She turns her head. "In fact, here are a couple of them now."
Another man and woman enter the room. "I thought I heard voices," says the woman. She looks Southeast Asian, with shoulder-length jet black hair, and her darkly tanned brown skin is emphasized by her white outfit. The man is tall, lean, and red-haired, dressed in camouflage and wearing a pistol in a holster.
Jack introduces the new arrivals. "This is Annabelle, our resident nurse, and Steve, ex-U.S. Army. Annabelle and Steve, this is Marina."
"It's good to see a new face," says Annabelle. "I'd introduce you to my patient, but he's still unconscious." She points to an open, heavy wooden door. In the room beyond, you see a man lying on a bed. "Old Joe took a nasty fall and hit his head."
"Marina's had a pretty rough time out there," Holly says. "Ana, can you take a look at her, please?"
After listening to your experience and examining you, Annabelle gives you some pills, along with some water and an energy bar, which you take gratefully. "You should be fine with a little rest. If those berries had dangerous poison, you wouldn't be able to walk by now. The vomiting was probably just from the untreated water." She pauses. "I'll get you some fresh clothes, too. I think we're the same size." Both of you are around 5'6", with slender but athletic builds.
After you have cleaned up a little in a nearby bathroom, the five of you sit in the living room and exchange stories. Jack and Holly reveal that they are the owners of the castle, which was built by an eccentric billionaire. He had died with no heirs, and they had bought the mansion from the bank.
"This place is huge," says Holly. "We still haven't explored all of it, and there are a lot of hidden passageways and out-of-the-way rooms. The people in the other parts of the castle can't even hear us. I'll have to introduce you at dinner."
"It's a blessing and a curse," Jack adds. "Plenty of room, and its own generator for electricity, but very hard to make zombie-proof. In fact..."
Suddenly, there is a scraping noise at one of the windows. Steve stands up, drawing his pistol, and goes to investigate.
He doesn't have a chance. The boards splinter into dozens of pieces, and a mass of zombies begin pouring inside, knocking down the barricading furniture by sheer weight of numbers. Steve manages to take out three of them before he is swarmed, going down under a horde of undead, pistol sailing.
You feel dizzy. This can't be happening. This was supposed to be the safe place. You see Jack raising his rifle, and Holly taking aim with her crossbow. Annabelle is racing towards the wooden door of the nearby bedroom. You hear her shout for you to follow her, and also see Steve's pistol lying on the floor several yards away.
"Hurry!" shouts Annabelle. "I've got to close this door!"
| Status | ||
| Health | 50 | Equipment:
The clothes on your back |
| MP | # | |
| Level | # | |
