From the window, Gladys could see Cassius surrounded by the horde of ghouls. “Fuck!” She cursed, turning to face Nellis who was coughing violently into his mask. She gave him a quick pat on the shoulder and moved to assist Winston in lifting the second table, successfully blockading the doorway.


Now, to save their new comrade. “Cassius is surrounded – hurry, go to the second floor. We might be able to help him somehow from there.” Winston had already started ascending the stairs, and she followed quickly behind him.

Cassius climbed even higher, hauling himself over broken concrete and jutting rebar until he reached the broken outer walls of the building that led him into the depths of the third floor. A streak of green lightning arced from the sky and struck a metal support not far from his head. The storm drove him deeper into the building, but he stuck close to the windows. Already he could hear the snarling ghouls fading into the background, but the light grew dim and the storm drove him deeper into the shelter. 

From the cracked glass of one opening he could make out the rest of the group firing into the tightly packed ghouls and moving into the upper levels of the building opposite his. The stairwell led only up as the lower stairs were filled in with rubble. Cassius moved fast to keep pace with the storm until he burst through a door onto the roof. Finally, he saw his salvation, a towering radio antennae supported by thick struts and anchoring wires. Tipping it over would either make a bridge over to the opposite building or it would be the lightning rod that roasted him.

He knelt by one of the last anchor wires and dug his knife into the rotted roof, tearing a large chunk free along with the anchor. Then he took a few bounding steps and threw his shoulder into the base of the antennae, pushing in the direction of the street, the building on the other side and his new associates on the other side.

STRANGTH (my actual score is low so success on 5 or higher on d6)


6XCU_qjq1-6 

EDIT: The metal groaned in response to Cassius' effort, but it only swayed steadily in the breeze- refusing to make the final plunge to the other side!1-6

Up, up, up she followed Winston, until they reached the roof. Gladys could see Cassius on the adjacent building working hard to tip over a large radio antenna to use as a bridge - that was genius! - but could they pull it off? While the antenna was old, it was surprisingly well-anchored.

Gladys was suddenly struck with a wave of nausea, and she knew the level of radiation in the area was spiking with each strike of lightning. Winston was already fast at work trying to pull the tower down, but he slipped in the rain and the antenna refused to budge. Gladys and Nellis were much smaller, but maybe if the three of them pulled at once, with Cassius pushing…

She came up from behind Winston and grabbed onto him, ready to pull. Now where was Nellis?

Going to roll for Gladys’ attempt: IOcN0BxK1-6

EDIT: jfc a 1 so clearly gladys slips as well lol1-6

As Cassius heaved against the rusted frame his boots dug deep into the rotting roof and eventually the ground beneath him started to give. This toppled the antennae, but it just dropped it into the street below rather than make the bridge he needed. On the other side of the street the rest of the group was having better luck. With their combined effort as the boy joined in they managed to tear their metal frame loose and it slammed down into the spongy wooden rooftop near Cassius. He wasted no time hopping onto the makeshift structure and stuck his arms out as far as they would go, teetering back and forth as he scurried across. 

He made it to the other side and promptly collapsed in a heap, coughing through the radiation sickness. Already he felt the familiar knotting in his gut.

"Keep movin, gotta keep movin." By now there was no hope of outrunning the storm, but they were so close to their destination. Cassius could see the silhouette of the warehouse where they were keeping his friend. It was lit from time to time by streaks of green in the storm.

Gladys felt a wave of relief as the antenna’s frame came crashing down from their combined efforts, but there was no time to revel in their success. The storm was still raging, and below the horde of ghouls had surrounded the building. With Cassius taking the lead, Gladys followed after him.

Sure enough, there were shoddily constructed bridges linking each building, and the structures groaned under her weight as she crossed them. The rain fell in sheets and the rooftops were slick, and Gladys worked hard to keep both her balance and a good pace. The sooner they reached the warehouse, the better.

Cassius moved nimbly over the catwalks and wooden beams between rooftops. Some of the wood creaked and cracked underfoot and he often skipped these all together, choosing instead to leap over the gaps to avoid the long fall to the ground below. His rifle was slung over his shoulder allowing his arms to swing freely, but he was still ready for a fight. His eyes searched the rooftops around them for any sign of raiders or goons. If the men who had taken his friend were using this area as a base then they had probably set up these little bridges and it was thanks to the storm that they had all taken shelter inside. Cassius didn't see anyone patrolling or watching as they made their way closer to the main structure. Still, he was ready for anything. He tried to keep an eye on everyone else, he'd learned the hard way that these people could be relied on. 

Finally he reached a long wooden ramp leading up the the fourth floor of the warehouse. It butted up against the side of the building and it looked like the raiders used the windows to get in and out. Still there were no sentries keeping watch. They'd finally caught some luck.