My ATZ Campaign - Day 62 - Assault on Precinct 13 part 4

And so we come to the final part. Who lives and who dies? There's only one way to find out - read on.

TURN 16.   Activation - Police = 4, Zombies = 2, PEF = 3
"Kelly, with me," SWAT Trooper Johnny Vincenzo ordered as he moved next to the door leading to the evidence room and the stairs down. "We need to check out those deadheads downstairs. See how many there are. Have you heard from Tybald and Markowitz?"
"Not a thing," SWAT Trooper Gemma Kelly replied as she prepared to re-enter the police station.
"I'll stay on watch here," Patrolwoman Sally Gibson said as her two colleagues disppeared inside.

Vampifan and Big Sil killed the last three zombies feasting on Detective Brandt. Vampifan fired a three round burst at the two adult male zombies, but Big Sil just needed a single shot to exterminate the little girl zombie in the blue dress.

The zombies surrounding Rookie Markowitz finished feasting on him as they literally tore him apart. The zombie rabbi moved to the front of the pick-up truck. The three zombies at the NE corner of the police station moved closer to the half eaten corpse of Detective Brandt.
I rolled 4d6 for zombie reinforcements and a couple appeared by the basketball court entrance.

TURN 17.   Activation - Police = 1, Zombies = 3, PEF = 5
The zombie mini-horde in the police station began to move upstairs to the second floor.

The two zombies that had arrived at the end of the last turn crossed the car park to the front entrance of the police station.

Four zombies met by the still warm corpse of Detective Brandt and the deathly cold corpse of Captain Marquez.

"We could just leave right now," Big Sil suggested as he fired a single shit from his Assault Rifle, hitting his target, a kilt-wearing zombie just above his left ear.
His suggestion must have put Vampifan off his aim, as he only hit once out of his three shots. He was hoping to bring down the three remaing zombies clustered around Detective Brandt but just killed one of them.
"Because it would be wrong," he announced, trying hard not to get angry. Big Sil had changed a lot since the death of his girlfriend, Angie. Cynicism had replaced compassion. The hairy biker's easy-going, friendly, and happy-go-lucky attitude had deserted him. Choosing his words carefully, Vampifan continued, "these people need our help. They have treated us fairly under the circumstances and we will not abandon them. Okay?"
"Hmph, I'm just saying, that's all," Big Sil replied sullenly.

Patrolwoman Gibson fired her .45 calibre Kimber Custom II BA Pistol at the two zombies shuffling towards the front entrance of the police station. She knocked one of them down but missed the other. She knew she should have done better. Were nerves getting to her?

SWAT Troopers Vincenzo and Kelly reached the top of the stairs leading down and were shocked to see so many zombies coming their way. Vincenzo fired a three round burst, hitting and killing one zombie and knocking down another. Kelly fired two quick shots from her BA Pistol. She hit and killed one zombie.

I rolled 11d6 for zombie reinforcements and scored three successes. One appeared in the centre of the car park.

The other two appeared at the SE corner of the police station.

TURN 18.   Activation - Police = (4) 6, Zombies = (4) 1, PEF = 6
Another double indicated the appearance of another PEF. This one was Rep:3 and appeared in Sector 5 at the side of the blue-grey Folding Structure Unit.

The zombies on the first floor of the police station charged at SWAT Troopers Vincenzo and Kelly up on the second floor, forcing them to take the Being Charged Test. Both passed 2d6, allowing them to fire first before fighting. Unfortunately, this is where it all went horribly wrong. Vincenzo fired his second three-round burst at them. He must have panicked because he missed with two shots and the shot that did hit just inflicted a Knockdown result. But what happened to Kelly was just so heart-wrenching. For the second time in this game she rolled double one whilst shooting and her BA Pistol ran out of ammo at a crucial moment. She was having nothing but bad luck with her firearms. Fortunately for the two SWAT Troopers, the width of the stairs meant only one zombie could attack each of them. Vincenzo had no difficulty in defeating and killing his attacker. Despite a five to one dice advantage, Kelly's luck totally deserted her and she lost the combat 0-1. (It went 2-1, 1-1 and 0-1). She dropped down OOF. This had not been a good day for her.

 

I rolled 5d6 for zombie reinforcements and just one turned up at the SE corner of the police station.

TURN 19.   Activation - Police = 2, Zombies = 6, PEF = 2
Vincenzo made a snap decision to flee instead of fight. He scooped up Kelly in his arms and headed back the way he'd come.
"Gibson, get over here," he shouted when he reached the exit door. "Kelly's been bitten."
"Oh, my God!" Gibson shrieked. "Did you see Ken or Ryan?"
"No, but I can't believe they're still alive," Vincenzo answered with honest appraisal. "The place is overrun with deadheads."

Not far away, Vampifan shot and killed the remaining two zombies directly below him with another short three round burst.
"And then there were none," he said wryly.
"Hah, you wish!" retorted Big Sil.
I rolled 3d6 for zombie reinforcements and for the first time in the game, none appeared.

TURN 20.   Activation - Police = 5, Zombies = 3, PEFs = 4
Vincenzo carried Kelly outside and laid her down beside one of the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) units.
"How badly was she bitten?" Patrolwoman Cibson asked.
"Bad enough," Vincenzo answered sombrely. "We both know that any bite is usually fatal."

Vampifan shifted his position to check on the front of the police station and he immediately spotted a female zombie near to the entrance porch.  He selected single fire on his Heckler and Koch G3 Assault Rifle.

A 7.62mm bullet burst through the skull of the zombie in a spray of red mist.
"Did you miss one?" Big Sil asked sarcastically.
"Nah, I got her," Vampifan replied smugly.
(Note that the zombie in the dressing gown was hidden from his view by the porch columns.)

The zombies indoors reached the exit that led to the first floor roof. The zombie in the dressing gown entered the Reception Hall and the two zombies at the SE corner of the building moved closer to the front.entrance.
I rolled just 1d6 for zombie reinforcements. I wasn't surprised when none turned up.

TURN 21.   Activation - Police = 1, Zombies = 2, PEFs = 3
PEF:6 passed 1d6 on the PEF Movement Table and moved one sector towards the closest PEF, which was PEF:5 in sector 7. PEF:5 passed 0d6 and thus remained where it was. I placed PEF:6 at the side of a police patrol car. It was in cover and in sight of Vampifan. I rolled on my PEF Resolution Table, hoping for a 2 or a 3. I rolled a 3. Oh, joy!

The rest of Team Vampifan had arrived! Inside Vampifan's black pick-up truck were Catweazle, Gap and Jamie. Just to remind you, here are their stats -
Lieutenant Ulysses Catweazle Rep:5 Star with Brawler and Nerves of Steel attributes and armed with Assault Rifle, Machine Pistol and Combat Knife.
Gap Rep:4 Grunt with Fear of Clowns Phobia and armed with Assault Rifle, Combat Knife and Body Armour.
Jamie Vaughn Rep:4 Grunt with Brawler attributes and armed with BA Pistol and Medi-pack.

Two zombies charged at SWAT Trooper Vincenzo and two at Patrolwoman Gibson. Vincenzo passed 2d6 on the Being Charged Test and fired a three round burst with his MP5A3 Sub-Machine Gun. Incredibly he missed with all three shots, firing far too high. Gibson could only pass 1d6 and so it was melee time.

Vincenzo split his 6d6 attack dice 3/3 and he won both of his combats. Gibson went with a 3/2 split with her 5d6 attack dice. She won her first combat with the 3d6 but lost her second. She was knocked Out Of the Fight with a serious bite wound.

Down below, on the ground floor, two more zombies entered the Reception Hall, whilst another two moved slowly upstairs to the first floor.

"Hey, Vincenzo!" Vampifan shouted. "Do you need any help?"
"No, I've got this covered," the SWAT Trooper replied with more confidence than he felt. He must have known his time was up as he added, "Just go. Get out of here! You're free to go!"
He fired a three round burst at the two zombies on the roof in front of him. His first shot hit the zombie who had bitten Gibson, killing him with a shot to the centre forehead. Then to his horror, his SMG clicked on empty.
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" he cried.

Vampifan dropped down to the bonnet (hood if you're American) of the pick-up truck and down again to the ground. Big Sil followed him, with SWAT Sergeant Connors slung over one shoulder.
"The cavalry's here, big man!" Vampifan said cheerfully.
"About bloody time!" Big Sil replied.

I rolled 12d6 for zombie reinforcements. Four appeared, with two next to the billboard.

And another two at the SE corner of the police station, close to another zombie.

 TURN 22.   Activation - Vampifan = 2, Police = (4) 6, Zombies = (4) 4, PEFs =3
Another double and the seventh PEF of the game arrived. It was Rep:3 and it appeared in Sector 3 in front of the grey medium sized FSU. It was in cover and out of sight of everyone.

The zombies on the second floor charged en masse at Johnny Vincenzo. He instinctively knew he was going to die but was determined to go down fighting and to take as many of the bastards as he could. He passed 2d6 on the Being Charged Test and he swiftly drew his BA Pistol. He fired two shots in rapid succession and scored two hits. Alas, they were only Knockdowns, not outright kills. Not being able to use the Easy To Hit rule against charging zombies made a big difference.

Four zombies made contact with him, moaning in anticipation of fresh blood. Vincenzo split his 5d6 attack dice into a 2/1/1/1 split. He still held onto his SMG and he swung it one-handed like a club. This classed it as a one-handed improvised weapon, which reduced its Impact of 2 to 1, exactly the same as the Impact of a zombie attack.

He won the first combat. He won the second combat. Amazingly, he won the third combat. Could he possibly win all four? Sadly, no. He lost the fourth combat, but he certainly went down fighting.

PEF:7 passed 2d6 on the PEF: Movement Chart and moved one sector to the largest group of players, which was a tie between Vampifan, Big Sil and Connors or Catweazle, Gap and Jamie. Catweazle won the roll off and the PEF moved into sector 9 in the front porch. This put it in sight and in cover of both groups of Team Vampifan. I rolled on the PEF Resolution Table that I'd designed and scored a False Alarm result. PEF:5 once again passed 0d6 on the PEF Movement Chart and remained in place.
Catweazle drove the black pick-up truck through the car park and pulled to a halt by the red pick-up truck, where Vampifan and Big Sil were waiting for him.

I rolled 8d6 for zombie reinforcements and three appeared at the back of the basket ball court by the SE corner.

TURN 23.   Activation - Vampifan = 6, Zombies = 5, PEF = 2
Vampifan and Big Sil climbed into the back of their pick-up truck, carrying SWAT Sergeant Connors with them.
"Take us home, driver," Vampifan said with a huge sigh of relief.
"It'll be a pleasure, sir," Catweazle replied. "I bet you guys have a story to tell."
"Ain't that the truth," Big Sil responded. "Along with a few apologies I need to make."

Catweazle floored the accelerator and they roared off into the sunset.

The zombies and the PEF failed to activate this turn. So all that remained to do was to roll 6d6 (for the noise made by Vampifan's pick-up truck) for zombie reinforcements. Three appeared inside the basketball court close to the entrance.

EPILOGUE.

From the second floor window of a red brick apartment that faced onto the front of the police station, a white skinned male with a large red nose and a clown's costume viewed the departure of Team Vampifan with keen interest.

"You may have escaped this time, Sillito" Sunny the Killer Klown said through gritted teeth, "but I'll get you next time!"

THE END

Total number of zombies appearing in this scenario = 115

Oh! My! God! Sunny is back! In case you don't know, Sillito is the surname of Big Sil, the man who almost killed Sunny when they first met. Sunny has never met Vampifan and so knows very little about him, other than he is a friend of Big Sil.

I really hope you enjoyed that as much as I did playing it. I can tell you quite honestly, that was the best game of ATZ I have ever played. It all worked out so brilliantly but I was quite surprised at how many defenders died. This was a massacre on a scale I've never witnessed before. The Dice Gods were exceptionally cruel at times. The police failing to win Activation in turn 4, meaning Marquez couldn't switch the engine of the Klown's pick-up truck off. Markowitz running away from his partner, Tybald. SWAT Trooper Kelly running out of ammo twice and having her SMG fall apart. Detective Brandt and SWAT Sergeant Connors sacrificing themselves to switch off that blasted engine. Brave SWAT Trooper Vincenzo almost defying the odds when he was last man standing on the police station roof.

On the flip side, Vampifan and Big Sil survived unscathed. I rolled to see if either of them were rewarded with a REP increase, just for surviving but neither were successful. 

Which brings me to the fate of SWAT Sergeant Wayne Connors. Thanks to young Jamie's help he made a full recovery. But, he still had to take the "Harry, Are You Okay?" Test. Being Rep:5, if he rolled 4, 5 or 6 on 1d6, he had fight off the infection. If he rolled less than that, he'd be infected and would turn into a zombie. Obviously, Team Vampifan wouldn't allow that to happen. Vampifan would put a bullet in Connor's brain before he turned. So did he survive? Well, to be honest, I never did roll for him. I want you to decide his fate. Please leave a comment saying whether he should live or die. If he lives, he will join forces with Team Vampifan. If he becomes infected, he'll be shot in the head and given a decent burial. His fate is in your hands, my friends. I'll abide by the majority decision. If it does end up in a tie then I'll roll that d6 and let the Dice Gods decide.

I ran a competition just before I posted this batrep, in which I asked you to make a guess at how many zombies would appear in the scenario. The answer was 115 and one person guessed correctly. Congratulations to Charles Salley, who was bang on the nose with his guess of 115. Charles, if you can e-mail me your postal address I'll send you your prize as soon as I can. Click on My Profile at the top left corner of my blog to get my e-mail address. If you're wondering what the prize is, I can tell you it is an Armorcast wrecked car - the one with the girder on the roof that I reviewed not so long ago.

Finally, I'd like to thank everyone who has left a comment about this batrep. Your support and appreciation inspires me to strive for the best in this hobby that I love so much. Of course, the big question now is, how do I top that?