Present: Chris = Harmen Fernandez, Hispanic, medium height, athletic, looking for love
Darryl = Jim Slim, tall lanky cowboy looking for fun
Ian = Gina Lopez, Hispanic, tall and strong, dragged along by her friend Hannah
Jamie = Jediah, slightly built, medium height hillbilly looking for male friendship
Jeff = Bobby Downs, African American of short stature lusting after Hannah
Kevin = Martin Luther Kennedy Jr. 6' pretty boy out to experience the wonder of nature
Richard = Hannah Bee, blond and buxom cheerleader out to get some alone time with boys
Shane = Jim Bob, quarterback jock from the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (football team)
Actually, by this point Jediah had been killed by his own crossbow, and Chris was about to leave for the evening, so Jamie was playing Harmen for the rest of the night.
Continued from part 1 ...
Hearing the terrified yell, Jim Bob jerked awake. He was in one of the top bunks and could see a huge 8' tall creature standing just outside the hut door, watching Martin flee. The ready food must have been more desirable as it turned back towards the inside and crouched down over Jediah's body and resumed his gorging.
As it crouched down over Jediah's body Jim Bob got a good look at the creature.
Its eyes glowed a deep red in the middle of a green bat-like face with large pointy ears and a long tongue. A series of green spines extended from its back and marched away from the base of its neck, down its back, and out onto a short tail. It held itself up on two massive hind legs and was tearing into Jediah's body with its two smaller front legs. Every couple of seconds it lowered its jaw down over the body and generated a nasty gurgling sucking sound.
 |
| The creature looks up towards Jim Bob |
Suddenly, a series of loud bangs rang out from somewhere outside, and Martin's voice could be heard yelling "Let me in, let me in"
The creature leapt up, its glowing red eyes looking directly at Jim Bob for a brief second as it turned in mid-leap, landed facing out the door, and charged out into the darkness.
"Thank you Martin" whispered Jim Bob to himself as he prepared to leap down off the top bunk and close the door. Landing in front of the lower bunk, Jim Bob turned to request Pedro's assistance with the door, but he wasn't there! His blankets had been thrown off, but of Pedro there was no sign.
As Jim Bob slammed the door closed and leant his considerable weight against it, a strange barking growl could be heard echoing around the camp.
....
[Kevin's attempt to evade the creature required a "roll" (place a D6 on top of the appropriate stack of D6. Starting with a D6 roll which indicates which stack to add to (A 6 means you pick any stack, otherwise on the stack indicated by the dice roll) which succeeded) and again escaped a sure demise.]
....
Inside the women's hut, the women (including Bobby and Harmen who had rightly decided that having a dead body inside the other hut would attract the creature) were cowering under their covers and listening to all the fearsome noises coming from the other side of the door.
They all leapt in fright when a thumping sounded against their door, and Martin yelled to be let in.
"Shall we open it?" whispered Gina.
"No way" whispered back Danni, "It's still out there!"
"What about Martin?" whispered Hannah.
"Stuff Martin" whispered back Danni, "He's a big boy, he'll be fine"
It all went silent.
....
Jim Bob was leaning against the door of the boy's hut, straining to hear what was going on. He had head Martin shouting and thumping on the girl's hut, but now everything was silent. Hearing a thudding approaching the other side of the door, Jim Bob braced himself and was nearly flung across the room as something smashed into the door from the outside.
"Crap" grunted Jim Bob, "I can't take too many more of those. Crap, crap, crap"
Jim Bob figured he had about a minute before the thing smashed its way back into the hut. With his back firmly braced against the door, Jim Bob reached down with one hand and grabbed Jediah's body. He dragged it closer to the door, just inside the arc of its swing, and between one crashing thump and the next he released the door and hid himself.
"It'll crash in, door hits Jediah, creature distracted by Jediah's tasty flesh, creature stops, I sneak past and escape outside" he figured to himself in the brief instant before the creature crashed in, the door swung open, hit Jediah's body, the creature looked down, and then bent over to feast.
Jediah's body is dragged to the door
"Yessss" he thought to himself as he silently nipped around behind the creature and out through the partially open door. [Obviously Darryl had to make a "roll". He chose Jeff to place his dice on the stack, which was successful, and he managed to escape. The alternative didn't bear thinking about!]
Jim Bob raced down towards the river, and as he passed the beached rafts, he grabbed the closest and dragged it with him to the river. Pushing the raft out into the current, he jumped aboard and began paddling downstream. Unfortunately, the raft had been slashed through and immediately began to take water. Realising that he would soon be underwater in the swift current, Jim Bob hastily dived from the floundering raft and dragged himself up onto the rocky shore with his paddle and threw himself under the nearest scrubby bush.
"Crap" gasped Jim Bob, "What frigging next. Crap, crap, crap"
....
Martin had spotted Pedro creeping down towards the river some minutes ago, and they both watched the sunken raft drift off downstream, and Jim Bob vanish into the darkness.
"Have you got a gun too?" whispered Pedro.
"Nope" replied Martin.
"What about a crossbow?"
"Nope"
They both looked towards the huts as a loud crunching noise echoed from that direction. Martin crept over to the second raft, and sure enough, it had also been slashed full length and was definitely not river worthy. After a brief consultation and confirmation that eating noises were still coming from the boy's hut, Martin crept to the fire pit and got the fire going. Once the fire had flared up, Pedro also approached, and they both grabbed burning branches.
Just then the creature turned from Jediah's body and looked over at the fire. Then charged.
"Throw it" yelled Pedro.
Martin throws the burning branch
Martin threw the burning branch, which spun through the air and hit the charging creature square in the face, right between its two glowing red eyes. Shaking its head, the creature turned and ran off into the darkness.
"Yes" yelled Martin triumphantly, "And just stay away"
But no, the creature soon stopped its flight and spun back towards the huts. Martin and Pedro hastily retreated back towards the river and watched from a distance as the creature once again chowed down on Jediah's body.
"Can't be much left" commented Pedro quietly.
"Where's Jim Slim?" wondered Jim Bob.
And almost immediately thereafter they watched the creature stand, stretch to its full eight-foot height, look around, and then amble over to the women's hut where it began to scratch and push on the door.
....
"Sssshhhh" whispered Gina, "it's coming"
The women (including Bobby and Harmen) were all cowering at the back of the hut, well away from the door, which was wedged shut with everything they had found. A loud and heavy scratching at the door began and continued for a good minute. Then all went silent.
"Creeeaaaaak" went the roof as something heavy thumped down onto it above their heads.
"Creak ... creak ... creak"
"No, no, no, no" chanted Hannah quietly, her eyes squeezed tightly shut.
....
"Look" whispered Pedro, "It's up on the damn roof now"
"Get off there, you... huge lizard" screamed Martin, leaping up from the river and waving his arms.
"That got its attention" grunted Pedro sarcastically, as the creature leapt from the roof and charged.
Martin and Pedro separated, Martin wading upstream while Pedro waded off downstream. The creature went for Pedro, diving straight for him and knocking him down into the river. They both disappeared under the swirling water.
"Out of the water, out of the water, out of the water" grunted Martin as he dragged himself back to the shore and ran for the women's hut. There was no sign of the creature, or Pedro, and so Martim thumped on the door of the women's hut, demanding to be let in. The door eventually swung open, and Martin darted swiftly inside. The door slammed closed.
....
Huddled under a scraggy shrub, Jim Bob heard some light footsteps staggering towards his refuge. Uncurling slightly, Jim Bob opened one eye and squinted out towards the noises. It was Pedro, soaking wet and cut up and bleeding from a number of nasty slashes across his body.
"Pssst" whispered Jim Bob, "Over here"
"Thank God" groaned Pedro, "Help me. That thing bit me. Hard. More than once"
Jim Bob watched Pedro stagger towards his refuge for help. As Pedro got closer Jim Bob noticed that Pedro's canine teeth were lengthening. "That's not normal" he thought to himself, and with a startling burst of adrenaline fuelled strength, Jim Bob leapt to his feet and swung his paddle at Pedro's head. The paddle smacked successfully into the side of Pedro's face, dislodging his lower jaw, and sending him to the ground unconscious. Still sustained by adrenaline, Jim Bob continued to smack the fallen Pedro with the paddle, until the paddle broke in two, and Pedro was just a pulped shape covered in blood and gore. Then he threw the body (all he could scrape together anyway) into the river and watched it disappear downstream. Eventually shaking himself back to reality, Jim Bob cautiously approached the camp.
The door to the men's hut was open and swinging slightly in the night breeze. The remains of Jediah's partly consumed body lay in the doorway, steaming slightly in the cold night air. Otherwise, there was no movement or sign of anyone. The fire was was again out, a slight red glow emanating from the remaining embers. The women's hut was shut tight, and totally silent.
Finding a nicely concealed location in the firewood stack, Jim Bob again curled himself as small as possible and settled in to watch.
Five minutes later, Jim Bob observed the creature slide out of the darkness and approach the women's hut. It paused briefly by the closed door and gave it a thump, then disappeared around the far side. Then it appeared on the roof and began to pace back and forward across the roof, trying to find a way in. Glancing at his watch, Jim Bob noted it was only 4am, two whole hours to go before light. He started to quietly whittle the broken end of the paddle to a sharp point with his multi-knife. It was slow going, but he had plenty of time. "Hopefully" he thought to himself.
....
Inside the women's hut, the women (including Bobby and Harmen) were still cowering at the back of the hut, keeping as quiet and still as possible. The top bunks were empty now, ever since the creaking noises from the roof some minutes ago, and everyone was either on the bottom bunks, or in some cases under the bottom bunk, on the floor! It had been quiet outside for some minutes now, since they had heard Martin yelling from somewhere in the direction of the river. Suddenly ...
"Thud" crashed the door.
"Eeek" squealed Hannah quietly from under the bottom bunk.
"Ssssh" whispered Bobby, from right beside her.
"Eeeek" squealed Hannah, "What are you doing here?"
"Creak, creak, creak" went the roof.
"Eeeeek" squealed Hannah.
"Thud, creak, scratch, bang, clonk, clonk, grrrrr" went the roof.
For over an hour, the creature prowled back and forward across the roof, testing and probing, obviously looking for any way in to get at the delicious smelling food just below. Then everything went silent.
The women (including Bobby and Harmen) spent the next hour in nervous anticipation. Was the horrid night over? Could they get on the rafts and flee? But there was no way anyone was opening the door until the sun rose and the camp was fully illuminated.
....
As the sun finally arose and bathed the camp in direct sunlight, Jim Slim slipped out of the door of the men's hut in a crouch. He carried a loaded crossbow, stepped over Jediah's decimated body, and nervously scanned the camp. Seeing nothing threatening, he moved cautiously towards the women's hut, still firmly closed and secured.
Jediah's crossbow proves useful
Jim Bob uncurled from his bolthole, called out quietly so as not to startle Slim, and slipped out of the scrub. The two Jim's knocked on the door of the women's hut, and pretty soon the whole group, or at least those remaining, were gathered in front of the firepit planning their next move.
"Where's Pedro?" asked Gina.
"The rafts are destroyed" noted Martin, "We're on foot"
"There is a track to the next way station" confirmed Danni, "A day's walk"
"Then let's go" commanded Jim Slim, gathering up food and leading off up the track.
Gina grabbed her camera, snapped off a full set of scene photographs, and everyone prepared to leave. As we were just about to head up the track after Jim Slim, there was a noise from the door to the men's hut. Jediah's decapitated head rolled up onto its neck, and its teeth started to clack together.
Hannah screamed, and we all ran.
....
Jim Slim was out in front with Jediah's crossbow clutched in his hands, closely followed by Danni, Martin, Hannah, Bobby, Harmen, and Gina, with Jim Bob holding the rear. Bobby's little legs were pumping flat out, but he managed to hold his place just behind Hannah's behind! The first one hundred yards went by in a flash as adrenalin powered everyone away from the gnashing teeth of Jediah's corpeless head. When Jim Bob glanced back without seeing any pursuit by the head, we all relaxed to a more sustainable pace.
The track cut away from the river, up a stoney valley, and through some old Indian ruins where we took a short ten-minute lunch break before pushing on.
"Nope" said Jim Slim waving Jediah's crossbow about, "We are pushed for time. No exploring!"
Pushing quickly on after the lunch break, we appeared to be making good time towards the next way station. Danni confirmed the way station had a phone and was only a short distance ahead. But the sun went down, and it started to get quite dark, and still no sign of the way station.
Danni's staff photo
"Hey" yelled Jim Bob from the rear, "Something is back there"
Jim Bob had spotted a large shape in the twilight at our rear. Jim Slim upped the pace at the front, and we all hustled on. Harmen pulled his pistol and glanced back looking for something to shoot at, but it was just too dark to see well enough.
"There" yelled Danni as we hurried over the next little ridge, "The way station"
Jim Bob put on a burst of speed down the other side of the ridge and passed everyone else, his sharped paddle held firmly in his right hand. The way station was only half a mile ahead now, and the glow of electric lights from the windows signalled civilization, was very appealing to us all. Harmen was now at the rear, with his pistol. But he still couldn't see anything behind him.
Jim Slim and Danni watched Jim Bob fade into the darkness ahead as he extended his lead on the group. Just as Jim Bob was fading from sight, they saw a large shadow rear up from the low bush to the left of the track where Jim Bob was running, and drift across the ground towards him.
"Watch out the left" yelled Jim Slim, confirming the crossbow was loaded and ready to fire.
The two shapes merged into one.
....
Jim Bob figured he was making good progress. His football fitness meant he had the pace on the group, and plenty of endurance to easily reach the way station before everyone else. And after all, he only needed to run faster than the slowest other person right. And that would be Bobby with his midget length legs. But he kept his sharpened spear tight in his grip, just in case.
Jim Bob heard a scream from behind him. "Left" he made out. As he glanced over his left shoulder, he saw a massive shadow very close, and closing fast.
"Bugger" he thought, swinging his sharped paddle in a wide arc towards the top of the shadowy figure. There was a satisfying thud as the paddle made decent contact with something solid, and the shape staggered past and dropped off the right side of the track, down a small drop, and into the bush.
Looking forward to the way station (about 400 yards) and back to the rest of the group and Herman's gun (about 200 yards) Jim Bob made the only call he could and began running back towards the others.
....
Jim Slim and Danni were peering into the gloom ahead where the shadows were dancing about. Jim Slim had the crossbow raised and pointing ahead. Danni was providing a frantic commentary.
A dark shadow
"Yes" she panted, "There is definitely something. It's killed him, it's killed him"
"Oh no" she squealed, "Something's coming, running straight towards us"
"I can't see what it is, but it's big, its big. Oh, it's getting closer. Arrggghhh"
"Arrgghh" repeated Hannah from behind her.
"Twang" went the crossbow.
"Arrggghh" screamed Jim Bob, as a crossbow quarrel smashed into his right arm.
[A successful "roll" was made, and Jim Bob didn't die from Jim Slim's crossbow shot]
"It's me you idiot" grunted Jim Bob, "Don't shoot me again"
"OK" yelled Jim Slim, "But first, show me your teeth"
Jim Bob's teeth were normal, so Jim Slim figured he wasn't a monster after all.
"Why did you shoot me?" screamed Jim Bob.
"Cause you were running" replied Jim Slim angrily.
"Of course I was running" screamed Jim Bob.
"Ssshhh" interrupted Danni, "Where is that thing?"
Everyone peered forward into the darkness, but nothing could be seen. We all made our way towards the lights of the way station, Herman with his pistol cocked and ready. Jim Slim with Jediah's crossbow reloaded and ready for action. Jim Bob had his paddle, but his right arm was effectively useless with the crossbow quarrel still lodged through his bicep.
We crept forward cautiously and arrived at the way station without further incident.
It was an old Indian hut, with a solid wooden door with an external bolt. We all rushed inside, and with a last glance around the dark countryside, Jim Slim pulled the door closed behind him.
Help was quickly on its way.
[And thus ended the night.
Jediah (Jamie) made a brief cameo and was quickly eliminated after failing his first and only roll.
Pedro (NPC) was killed twice. Once by the creature, and once by Jim Bob (Darryl)
Various party members were very lucky to survive, saved only by their lucky "rolls".
The Chupacabra Chupacabra - Wikipedia (mostly) went hungry]
"
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