[WOTD] Chapter 2, Session #8: Business as Unusual in Sanctuary

[jordangreywolf]

War of the Dead Season 2, Session #8
Overview: Part-time jobs, scavenging for supplies, making connections, and stopping riots.

The Cast:

• Ashley J. Williams (JZ): S-Mart sports-goods salesman and all-around handyman, armed with a "boomstick," a modified chainsaw, and a big mouth. Brash and egocentric, but brilliant at turning junk into usable weapons and gear.
• Sabrina Ford (HZ): 14-year-old high-school athlete, survivor of the SS Pinnacle, with a horribly disfigured right arm hidden in a large costume "cat-paw" glove/sleeve. Prone to impulsive behavior at times.
• Gary (SV): A huge man and Renaissance-fair enthusiast who fancies himself a knight, insulated from the horror of the Apocalypse by his unshakeably naive and child-like outlook. Frequent visitor of the processing center, where he gets free candy.
• Fletch (R): An able and stealthy bowhunter who hunts game and zombies with equal ease. He has found work as a guide for scavenger outings into the "rotter" parts of the city.
• Father O'Shaughnessy (Digital_Rampage): Catholic priest and former veterinarian who has been learning much about the nature of the infection and medical procedures while undergoing tests at the UNIMED facility -- as he carries a resistance to the virus that warrants further study.
• Daniel "DJ" McCoy (CH): Mountain man, trapper, and hunter, acting as a scout and anti-zombie sniper for the group. He has become a surrogate father for Melissa, a young girl rescued from an airport upon reaching Texas.

Return of the Father:
The group staying at the church is awakened as an APC rolls up, and soldiers pile out in the dead of night, keeping a watch out for any ambushes by Ragers or Ferals. Fletch and DJ are on high alert, at first afraid that this might represent some change in the balance of power with UNIMED corporate forces deciding to raid the church -- but no, they're making a delivery: Father O'Shaughnessy has just been discharged from the facility, for reasons not immediately explained. Once the situation is defused, Fletch and DJ exchange pleasantries with the soldiers and make wry observations on the continuing eerie "siege" of the city by the undead, while Father O'Shaughnessy is greeted by the others inside and quickly gets up to speed on all that he's missed. Their mission completed, the soldiers help move the church's barricades back into place, then load up and roll off back toward UNIMED.

Meeting the Neighbors:
Father O'Shaughnessy is warmly welcomed into the neighborhood, as his name has been heard of, but he's never actually met the "regular" citizens of Sanctuary outside of the UNIMED facility. Alice Morrissey, the crazy cook from the Lake Fort Worth camp, greets the priest as if he's her "dear" just home from work on some 1950s sitcom, and she has baked muffins. (Once again, it's a wonder just HOW she finds the ingredients for these things, and many people are wary of sampling anything, for fear of just WHAT she might have substituted, even if the muffins smell extraordinary.)
(GM Note: It could be because I have everyone make a Vigor check anytime someone eats a muffin and then I give them all these "Are you SURRRRE you're happy with that roll?" comments and such.)

Some time is spent trying to catch up on things, and Ash drafts most of the others to help fortify the church's defenses further, since there are more reports of those "Ragers" breaking into the so-called fortified zone at night. Nowhere is truly safe anymore.

Night Visit:
At night, DJ is on watch, and Fletch is so exhausted from the day's work that he is dozing lightly on another one of the complex rooftops. DJ spots some shadows lurking on a side street, and soon discerns that there are Ragers clambering across the rooftops -- but quietly. They aren't tearing anything up just yet. He then spies a small figure walking calmly across the street, and he's certain she's alive, and not a shambler or even a sprinter. He uses the nightvision goggles and is able to identify her: It's Sharlene Fimori! He tries to figure out a way to rescue her before the Ragers can see her, but then he notices her stopping and waving back at the creatures -- perfectly aware that they're there, and unconcerned. That worries him, to say the least.

Sharlene heads toward the church, easily enough bypassing the various "anti-shambler" barricades and pitfalls Ash has set up, and then she heads right for the window outside where Melissa is staying in the main church building (up in an office on the second floor in the back, behind the sanctuary). She knocks on the window, and makes a whispering call. DJ, fearful that Sharlene is some sort of "smart sprinter zombie" and is coming to infect her sister or take her away -- or maybe that Sharlene is in control of the ragers or any number of other scenarios -- rushes over and points his gun down at her. (He can't very well do this with the crossbow at this angle, without risking the bolt falling out.) With blood rushing to his ears, and consumed with the priority of protecting Melissa, no matter what, he shouts at Sharlene to send her "friends" away. Sharlene, surprised (as DJ was particularly stealthy), stammers momentarily, then puts on an evil grin and starts to make some sort of speech (that was probably recited and intended for maximum creepy value), but DJ will hear none of it and shouts her down. "You can come back and see your sister if you are ALONE. If not, then GO AWAY!" He fires a shot into the air to show his intent and to alert the others. The Ragers stir, but Sharlene jumps down and dashes across the street. One of the monsters sweeps her up and they clamber across the rooftops as flashlights turn on, shouts go out, and other survivors fire into the night in a panic.

DJ starts to try to tell the others what happened, but there seems to be no proof to back up his claims -- until Sabrina brings the dogs out, and they start sniffing around, then bay and howl, obviously agitated. Melissa reports that she had a "dream" about Sharlene, but DJ just assures her it was nothing, and that she should go back to sleep -- "Uncle DJ" will keep everyone safe.

Taking Notes:
The next day, Father O'Shaughnessy is very interested in the data collected by Elise Anya and her geeky "friend" from Dr. Frosch's computers, as well as the samples obtained from the lab, and from the drug dealer that Fletch met. Video recordings decrypted from the hard drives confirm that Dr. Frosch was indeed trying to find ways to gain immunity against the "Z-Virus" (not the exact term he used -- as he didn't consider it a true "virus" -- but much easier to pronounce), but that he was utterly amoral in his methods, willing to sacrifice anyone and anything as test subjects for "the greater good." Among the captured items is a dart launcher device that is rigged to treat darts with a specialized venom that impairs the altered nervous systems of shamblers and sprinters. (If used against humans, it would have no immediate effect -- other than the effect of being stabbed with a pointy dart -- but would still interfere with some processes, and lead to sickness and numbness if not properly treated in time.) Another sample that was thought to also contain this "neurotoxin" instead contains samples of a spinal fluid extract from a Z-virus-resistant human: if introduced into a "fresh" shambler, it is believed (according to Dr. Frosch's notes) that it might produce another "thinking" zombie (but with a very high chance of failure, due to factors not yet understood). Hence, darting random zombies with this might not be such a great idea. Of more practical application would be the paste form of the "Z neurotoxin" -- and Father O'Shaughnessy insists that they need to take this to UNIMED and see if it can be mass-produced, because this could help provide a new weapon against the zombie horde that would be far more effective than fire or bullets. They could tip makeshift caltrops with this toxin, and "mine" an area as a defense against the zombie horde! (Or, at least, those not wearing heavy boots.)

(GM Note: Father O'Shaughnessy by this point not only has high Persuasion and Charisma, but he's also invested heavily in Investigation and Kn (Medicine). He made some ridiculously high rolls, thanks in part to exhausting his starting Benny allotment, hence some major breakthroughs.)

They make contact with UNIMED, and Father O'Shaughnessy shares the discovery -- though a number of details are left vague about just HOW this neurotoxin was acquired (since the priest wasn't there for all of that, and there's a bit lost in translation). The important thing is that the priest has some ideas about just HOW the neurotoxin might be replicated using ingredients easily available in the UNIMED stores. Some UNIMED researchers pledge to look into this immediately, taking some samples (though Fletch reserves a vial for himself, just in case the stuff disappears for good). Father O'Shaughnessy, while he's at it, asks if he could get some medical equipment and supplies; he wants to set up a clinic for people in the neighborhood of the church, but he's also interested in continuing his own research, based on his own insights of the infection as he's observed so far. After his considerable discoveries, he's able to cash in some favors and pull some strings, and, despite some mild protests from Ash at all the noise and chaos, soon the fellowship hall of the church is converted into a clinic.

Day Jobs:
Over the next several days, Father O'Shaughnessy is busy with the clinic, making connections with the neighborhood, drafting help from his fellow survivors at times, but also reaping benefits: Neighbors bring gifts in the form of vegetables grown in their "victory gardens," or odd supplies as donations for the clinic -- and occasionally he gets useful tips on work opportunities for his friends. Even his less-charismatic allies soon become well-known names in the survivor community. Sabrina helps out at the clinic as an understudy to Father O'Shaughnessy, but also volunteers at the UNIMED kennels, as she's developed a real rapport with the UNIMED dogs. (She's also on hand to deal with a medical emergency as a wounded UNIMED dog goes berserk and attacks the staff; she manages to subdue the dog and apply first aid before the full security force can arrive to assist.) She is particularly interested in the "feral" UNIMED dogs that sometimes roam the uncontrolled parts of the city, and is interested in befriending them. Although it means more mouths to feed, and almost all of her "income" goes toward getting food for herself (she is always voraciously hungry for some reason, yet never seems to gain a pound) and her dogs -- or "accessories" (Kevlar "barding" for the dogs), her "pack" slowly grows, until she has four "Not-UNIMED" dogs following her around on her daily rounds, earning her various nicknames among the survivor populace.

(GM Note: The "Fellow Lifeform" Adventure Card can really get out of hand at times. Sabrina keeps ending up with it, and piling up more dogs!)

Fletch and DJ earn names for themselves as silently lethal scouts; Fletch is of course already proficient with a bow, while DJ has had to take up the crossbow. Fletch's strength is in being able to make amazing shots at zombies at a distance, taking out small crowds of them even before getting close enough for them to react. DJ hasn't quite the same superhuman skill in marksmanship, but makes up for it with his survival and tracking skills. They're friendly rivals of a sort, each leading their own teams into the uncontrolled portions of the town, and then comparing their "take" for the day (in scavenged items and tips from their "tour groups") afterward. Fletch also helps out with DJ's mission to train Melissa to be self-sufficient (as DJ is very matter-of-fact that he might "kick the bucket" some day, or he might simply not be around when monsters attack, so "Missy" needs to be able to protect herself). DJ bargains for some child's training bows, and raids a hunting goods store during one of his outings. Soon, part of the church playground has been set up as an "Aim for the Head!" clinic, with Fletch teaching Melissa and the neighborhood kids (with practice arrows!) the basics of archery, using some makeshift mannequins with foam wig-mount heads. DJ uses some "air-soft" guns for gun training, though he also expends some precious 9mm bullets to train Melissa to respect real firearms. ("Never EVER point a gun at something or someone you don't want dead!!" and so on.) After a few days of training, DJ gives Melissa a prize in recognition of her progress so far: A fancy 9mm pistol he found in a pawn shop, with an image of "Our Lady of Guadalupe" on the pearl-grip handle.
(GM Note: After all of this, I saddled DJ and Father O'Shaughnessy with new Hindrances -- DJ now has Melissa as a Dependent, and Father O'Shaughnessy has "all of Sanctuary" (okay, just the local community, in particular) as a Dependent. In my house-rule game terms, it's not all bad; it means they get a +1 to maximum and current Sanity, and a +1 to Spirit rolls to recover Sanity, so long as their "dependent" is all right. However, there's a chance of this turning into a negative if something sertious should HAPPEN to that Dependent. On the up-side, it's also an excuse for the occasional roleplaying Benny for going above-and-beyond to do nice things for your Dependent -- or for showing concern when said Dependent is in peril.)

Ash continues his awkward romance with Amy Stiller, the psyche student, who is forever asking him questions and "analyzing" him, but who is also often hinting that she's "afraid of being alone" in the world. She keeps dropping hints that she might be more interested in him than as a "patient," and he keeps making double-entendres, but somehow in any given potentially romantic moment, he suddenly shifts gears, gets distracted, or makes some utterly unromantic remark that totally kills the mood. Ash ends up going to DJ for advice (where DJ gives some of his "homespun advice" that seems to have no useful moral to it, as it often turns into an embarrassing reference to allegations of near-inbreeding in DJ's tangled family tree, what with all the "kissing cousins" involved). Amy ends up going to Alice Morrissey (AKA "crazy housewife") for advice, seemingly oblivious to Alice's total detachment from reality and "1950s sitcom mom" mannerisms.

Toy Drive:
The military and UNIMED make an unhappy announcement: They are having difficulty making supply runs outside the city, as the zombies appear to be somehow "learning" and adapting to the "firebomb run" method that the troops have been using to temporarily clear the zombies from a gate and then run vehicles through. As a result, rations are "temporarily" being cut for most survivors, with prioritization for certain groups. On the upside, DJ and Fletch find their services in much higher demand, but the areas of Sanctuary inside the "zombie siege" area are pretty heavily picked over, particularly of anything edible.

DJ, Fletch, and a few of their "scavenger buddies" get together after finding a number of "useless" items such as toys during their forays, and decide to go ahead and haul a bunch of them in anyway. Melissa gets some junk jewelry, Sabrina (still just a "kid" in DJ's eyes) gets a bunch of dolls and some makeup (Sabrina politely thanks him, and the dolls end up as doggy chew toys), and Gary gets a big collection of comics and picture-books (as he can barely read), while various neighborhood kids get assorted other gifts. It's largely pointless, but a big morale-booster in the face of the tighter restrictions.



Riot:
Sabrina, on her way to volunteer at the kennels again, runs into trouble. First, she runs into a "street-preacher" of sorts, of indeterminate faith, who insists that this Apocalypse is punishment by the Mother Earth against humans, who have been so proud as to imagine themselves at the top of the food chain for too long. He claims that the Ragers and Ferals are proof that the only way to survive is to revert -- to evolve back into forms more in keeping with Nature. Only by emulating them can they all be saved, etc. The message is a bit muddled, but aside from "Humans are evil and must be ashamed, and deserve what they get," the implication seems to be that he's advocating cannibalism of some sort. Sabrina is repulsed by the thought, perhaps in part because she has to constantly struggle with being far hungrier than she ever was in the past, and she feels the urge to attack and kill the street-preacher and his followers -- but she didn't bring her gun. She manages to calm herself down and to move on.

That's not the end of it, though. There's a riot brewing outside the UNIMED gates. She weaves her way through the crowds for a better view, and finds a few familiar faces also on the scene: Father O'Shaughnessy has climbed up on top of an overturned police car, and is trying to urge people to be calm, occasionally dodging or weathering a thrown rock or empty can. (He's still geared up in his scavenged Kevlar, so to anyone who doesn't immediately recognize his voice or notice the clerical collar, he looks like a soldier or paramilitary at a glance.) Some of Fletch's previous compatriots from the snack cake factory run (and occasional collaborators on scavenging runs) are also there -- and Gary shows up, on his way to the processing center because he's got it in his head that he's supposed to be there every day (after the first several days in town ended up with him being sent back there for one reason or another).

(GM Note: Since DJ, Fletch and Ash didn't have reasons to be heading for the UNIMED area on this particular day, they got NPC stand-ins. Ash's player took over Sabrina's favorite dog -- who she has taken to calling "Krypto" -- while Fletch and DJ brought back some of the survivors of Fletch's side adventure, with newly-replenished ammunition. Gary, Father O'Shaughnessy and Sabrina were on hand as "regular" PCs.)

Up on top of a nearby building, a woman in close-cropped hair and a Che Guevara t-shirt pulls out a megaphone and starts urging the crowd to revolt against the corporate oppressors, claiming that "Mark my words -- UNIMED is about to show its true colors and what it has REALLY been working on behind closed doors!" A crowd of worked-up youths cheers on one lone teen who has what looks like a rocket-launcher with some cobbled-together parts but what look to be actual military-grade explosives. He clambers up on top of a car and starts posing with the launcher, tossing the horns as he's egged on by his compatriots. This is far from the gates of the UNIMED enclosure, so there aren't any soldiers close by, and they don't seem to have yet responded.

Krypto, however, recognizes the rocket launcher as a threat, and leaps into action, rushing up and stealing the satchel containing additional charges, while an old man strides up and starts chastising the young man and finally beating at his ankles with his cane in order to get the miscreant's attention. Just about then, over near an abandoned building, several large men burst out, armed with chainsaws -- but, as it turns out, these are no ordinary men. Rather, their skin has an odd pallor, and it looks as if their chainsaws have been bolted on to their arms -- while another has an assault shotgun. They seem to be zombies -- but zombies that have been "preserved" in some way, and who have undergone some grotesque and deliberate alterations. They all sport collars similar to the one that Fletch grabbed a sample of in Dr. Frosch's lab.

Father O'Shaughnessy realizes the danger but his first concern is for the crowds of innocent bystanders. He is an oasis of calm amidst the panic, as he calls out to familiar faces in the crowd -- people he's met while working with the clinic -- pointing out nearby cover or alternate exits from the area, urging them to take those around them to safety. He doesn't have a megaphone, but the priest's recognizeability and the good will he's built up with the local populace pays off, as bystanders begin to flow out of the area. Still, there are a number of people -- heavily armed -- who remain.

What follows can best be described as chaos. Zombies attack everybody within reach. Several of the rioters attack the zombies. One woman sees Krypto stealing the satchel of explosives, and, noting that it's in UNIMED "dog kevlar" (albeit with the "UNIMED" logo spray-painted over), shouts, "They're siccing the hounds on us!" and then she charges after the dog with a sword. She stumbles and falls, knocking down the satchel of explosives. The dog lets go, then dives away, bowling into the old man and pushing him behind a nearby heavily-armed "Mad-Maximized" car as the satchel of explosives goes off. Alice charges at one of the armed rioters who has what appears to be a bundle of dynamite, stabbing with a knife. Zombies come around and attack Alice. A couple of Fletch's compatriots blast away at zombies as they close on Alice. One of the rioters blasts a zombie as it's attacking Alice, but then another rioter screams at Alice for having stabbed her friend, and shoots at her. To an outsider, it starts to look like a mad free-for-all between zombies, rioters, and the makeshift coalition of outsiders. Father O'Shaughnessy tries to call for calm, but then Gary shoves the overturned cop car he's on, in order to bring it down on its wheels and crush a couple of zombies -- forcing the priest to ride it down and clamber back down to the ground. Gary shoves the car around, shoving another zombie and pinning it against another vehicle. Fuel spills, Molotovs are thrown, fire erupts, the assault-shotgun unloads. There's carnage everywhere. Sabrina sics her dogs on the fallen, to make sure they don't get up as zombies -- but, of course, this looks very much to the average bystander as if she's siccing them to finish off the wounded. (It's a fine point, when you don't carefully check to see if someone still has a pulse or not.) Sabrina runs up near Alice, and finds that there is indeed a bundle of dynamite on the ground; she grabs it. sticks the fuse against a nearby small fire, then makes a running toss to hurl it up onto the rooftop where the rabblerouser in the Che Guevara shirt is located (and where there's another girl with a sniper rifle, who might or might not be lining up on one of Sabrina's friends, or on a zombie, or on a UNIMED security guard, for all anyone can tell). The would-be revolutionary scurries for cover, clambering over the side and hanging onto the edge, while her compatriot is slow to notice the incoming explosive -- and is blown off the rooftop, rifle and all. "She Guevara" (as one of the others has unofficially dubbed her) clambers back up, and in a fury of vengeance, grabs up a rifle, and unloads a burst of fire at Sabrina. As Sabrina is left wide open and has no body armor, it might well have been a killing blow, but Krypto suddenly comes flying from amid the smoke and flames and hurls himself in the way, taking the full brunt of the blast. Fortunately, he's wearing the "not-UNIMED" Kevlar barding Sabrina acquired for him a while back, so even though they both get knocked down, nothing gets through (though he still suffers some nasty bruises).

(GM Note: "Noooooo!" Adventure Card played by Krypto to heroically throw himself in the way of the attack versus Sabrina, and remaining damage not absorbed by armor Soaked with Bennies, as Sabrina was out.)

The last of the zombies is finished off, and the remaining rioters break and run once it's no longer clear just who is firing at (or throwing explosives at!) whom. Father O'Shaughnessy climbs back on top of a wrecked vehicle, and shouts for attention, asking everyone to please stand down, as the zombie threat is eliminated. He bids the woman on the rooftop to please throw down her weapon and surrender, while they wait for security to arrive to sort all this out -- and when it looks like Sabrina is going to urge her dogs into the building to head up the stairs to sic the woman up there, he persuades her to stand down. The woman, seeing several armed people around and quickly gauging that most of them are on Sabrina's side of things, holds her hands up and tosses the rifle aside. As she hasn't her megaphone to hand, whatever she has to say about the wisdom of their actions is lost, though it's probable that she has something to say about the evils of UNIMED or corporations in general, and that she used the word "puppets" at least twice.

UNIMED security shows up, and survivors quickly vouch for Father O'Shaughnessy and his handling of getting everyone out of the danger area quickly, and he vouches for Sabrina (he wasn't in a good position to see what was going on with the dynamite being flung around), and of course Gary made quite an impression with his forceful shuffling of vehicles around to use them as makeshift weapons of a sort for blocking and pinning zombies. In the chaos afterward, Sabrina is able to gather up her dogs, and she also quietly picks up the sniper rifle that fell from the rooftop, aiming to get Ash to take a look at it and see if he can straighten it out after its fall.

Business as Unusual:
The routine pretty much returns to normal. Father O'Shaughnessy gets back to the clinic. Sabrina returns to her work between the kennels and the clinic, and trying to find out what information she can about the layout of Sanctuary, quietly plotting multiple ways to leave the town in case it's overrun by zombies or revolutionaries or cannibal street-preachers or Ragers. Ash tinkers around the church. DJ and Fletch act as "tour guides" into the more dangerous parts of the city, though the pickings keep getting leaner, and it's harder to come back with enough to justify the attempt.

During one such trip, DJ finds that the group following him has wandered into a nearby store for looting, despite his not yet giving the all-clear. When he turns back around, he sees a lone boy standing in the street. He's pretty sure he's doing a fine job of hiding, but the kid seems to clearly see him ... that is, until DJ checks through his scope and can make out that the kid's eyes are white and blind. He's about to finish off the kid with a shot to the head, when he realizes that the boy is breathing, and any stumbling he makes is simply because he can't see where he's going (even if he seems to move with a certain amount of purpose in DJ's general direction). DJ puts down the gun, and the boy smiles and calls out to him. "We miss Melissa!" he calls. "Sharlene especially! You really should give her back. She'll be safer with us."

This begins an awkward exchange, as DJ tries to balance his unease with the kid's mannerisms with his own natural inclination to see children as children -- not some sort of demon-possessed monsters (and he's still shaken by the idea that he almost mistook this kid for a zombie, nearly shooting on sight). The general gist of the boy's story seems to be that the General has a plan for Sanctuary, and that everything will be better, but the kids have a special role: They still have a chance to grow up and become something better in the new world. DJ puts on his best friendly and neighborly demeanor, playing along, but frequently interjecting with personal questions for the kid, asking about his family, whether he misses his folks, what he's been eating lately, etc. He begins to tell the kid about the good food there is back in Sanctuary, and what a good cook Alice is (if you're brave enough to try what she cooks), and how he has learned to make "chicken nuggets" (pigeon nuggets, actually, but a bird's a bird), and so forth. Despite his awkward mannerisms, somehow DJ manages to put the kid off-track, as it seems like the boy was given a schpiel to deliver, but that otherwise the kid wasn't prepared for banter. The kid tries to indicate that time is short, but somehow DJ manages to get through with him with an offer of, "Well, since y'all already know where Melissa is, why don't you come on by and see her? You could talk to her, and she could decide for herself. We could talk a spell over lunch. S'got to be better than whatever they're feeding you in the sewer." He gets the impression that the boy is indeed very hungry, and while he has a lingering fear that the kid has been eating an unnatural diet, perhaps there's still some hope for him. After some back-and-forth (GM Note: Absolutely ridiculously high unskilled Persuasion roll, after a few Bennies, despite Charisma penalty), he agrees insofar as going back with DJ to fetch Melissa. DJ manages to meet up with the rest of the "tour group" and keeps the kid's eyes hidden, persuading them to call it a day early and head back, since they found some poor starving kid wandering alone in the city.

Back at the church, the kid seems committed to the idea of bringing Melissa back, but with much coaxing, he concedes a bit more, such as that he wasn't told just how quickly he had to bring her back. He ravenously devours any food put in front of him, but then shortly thereafter gets sick. Father O'Shaughnessy tends to him, with help from Alice (who, despite her delusions, still seems to have some decent mothering instincts around the kids), and even Amy Stiller breaks from psychoanalyzing Ash to check on the kid. They manage to pry out of him that "The General" is in charge of the undead around Sanctuary -- but also that he has some sort of influence over the creatures that have come to be known as Ragers and Ferals (though he hints that there are still some strange creatures within the city that are so wild that they're beyond anyone's influence at all, and might prey on human or undead alike). This "General Russo" is the father of young Brandon Russo, and was formerly aligned with UNIMED, but he saw how "evil" UNIMED was, and went into hiding -- but at some point "turned" and became a "great thinker" among the Undead. The child tells Father O'Shaughnessy that "I'm supposed to look for you," and "General Russo has big plans for you! You could be part of the future of everybody and everything!" Alas, General Russo seems to keep in seclusion, as he's able to direct the undead somehow even at a distance, and through "lieutenants," so the group isn't able to pry from the kid where Russo's "base" might be. For what it's worth, the kid seems to think that Dr. Frosch is working at odds to "General Russo," and that the recent attack by undead outside UNIMED wasn't part of Russo's master plan.

The group gets the idea that Russo desires to acquire the kids of the city, as the kid claims that only children are "young enough to change." The child is somewhat apologetic about his own blindness, indicating that it's not part of "the plan," and this is apparently what made him expendible enough to be sent as a "messenger." Father O'Shaughnessy is certain that the boy has been fed primarily a diet of dead flesh, much of it human or formerly human, and that it has resulted in changes similar to those seen in adult humans who've resorted to cannibalism, but who haven't immediately fallen into the "pseudo-undead" state. The damage to the eyes and much of the scarring is likely irreversible, but there's a possibility that the progress toward the "pseudo-undead" state can be halted, if the kid can switch to a more natural (less cannibalistic!) diet before it's too late.

DJ is angry at this. It's made repeatedly clear that "General Russo" eventually plans to overrun the city, but that he's just biding his time, slowly building up more and more zombies until the defenses can't hope to hold against them -- and quite possibly even establishing a "fifth column" inside the city in the form of people losing their sanity and/or turning against each other. He's unwilling to abandon Sanctuary, and believes that the battle needs to be taken to Russo before it's too late. Father O'Shaughnessy agrees.

Battle Plans:
Father O'Shaughnessy arranges for a meeting with Commander Morrison and the security forces. While he's at it, he shares results of some further experimentation he's been doing with the anti-zombie neurotoxin -- namely, as the neurotoxin seems to degrade quickly upon exposure to air, he has come up with a plan to treat darts or caltrops with a paste of the substance, but then coat that with a layer of oil. He has determined that the oil should shelter the paste from contact with air and thus extend its active lifespan, so that the caltrops can be set out and provide a long-term defense, but that the oil isn't sufficient to interfere with the action of the toxin once it comes into contact with the zombie nervous system. Commander Morrissey is impressed by this, and says that he'll put this plan into action immediately.

The group goes a step further, sharing about the child they recovered (though Commander Morrissey is a bit put off by the idea that they managed to get the kid into the secure area without passing through Processing first), and they make a compelling argument for launching an attack on Russo. Specifically, they volunteer to be part of a strike force to go into the tunnels underneath the city, as based on interrogation of the kid, they've picked up a few clues and think they can narrow it down to a few strategic areas where Russo might be based. They want support from UNIMED and the security forces, however, to block off any known surface access points so that Russo cannot simply flee (presumably with his son, and possibly the children) to regroup elsewhere. Also, explosives set off at key points could limit the ability of any subterranean forces to move about freely. They spend some time going over maps, noting likely points, but conceding that they can't be absolutely certain of every possible escape route. Still, any unknown locations are likely to be small and to present a bottleneck, and if they stage their attack during daylight, Russo's ability to have Ragers to back him up would be greatly limited (due to their strong aversion to sunlight aboveground).

Commander Morrison thinks it's possible, but he estimates that it will take about two days to mobilize completely. Of course, longer would allow for more preparation, but he's afraid that the enemy forces are savvy enough to be able to recognize sudden movements in the Sanctuary forces, so they shouldn't take too long at it.

The group pledges to do what they can in the intervening time to recruit volunteers only from trusted allies, to minimize chances of this leaking out -- for fear that there might be insane "sympathizers" within Sanctuary (or those who might tip off some of the "resistance" groups in the tunnels, imagining that this is just a power-play by UNIMED).

Father O'Shaughnessy, Ash, DJ, Fletch, and the others come away from the meeting certain that they can take action, but with a grim thought that this might be all-or-nothing: If their plan doesn't pay off, they might well provoke General Russo into striking early, while the security forces are spread out, trying to play "whack-a-mole" with all the various points where he could (but probably won't) pop up throughout the city. The new plan with the neurotoxins might pay off (and they pick up a large supply of the stuff at the UNIMED labs -- where they've succeeded in replicating it and are working feverishly to produce it in greater quantities), but it's as-yet untested in battle.

On the other hand, if Russo can be defeated, perhaps there's hope for Sanctuary to truly live up to its name! In a couple of days, one way or another, they're all likely to have a much better idea which way it's going to go.