403 - PARKING GARAGE

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

The 403's parking garage is a single floor underground parking lot that is rather small. It was entered via a large metal rolldown that has since become useless without power. (Though could be opened manually if needed.) There is also a door leading up some steps to the back alley, and is now the main entrance for the 403 building now that the front door is blocked.

The back door is down a few steps and shielded from the road by a concrete slab. It's a single door which used to take a keycard, now it's held shut by a thick piece of wood through the handle on the inside. It can only be opened if someone inside removes this wood.

Also visible is a rolldown to the garage, which is metal mesh and partially see through at the very bottom. It is closed and locked to the ground, useless without electricity.

There are still cars in this garage, including a motorcycle, Seth's retro convertible and Derek's truck. There is also a bike rack with several bikes. There is also a storage closet and doors to both stairwells.

From here you can go to:
the stairwell north-- leads to lobby
the stairwell south-- leads to restaurant
the back alley

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

The Tower 801 posse milled around the parking garage, catching their breaths and trying to recover from the journey. Davin gestured to the stairwell and could not be heard over the din of the crowd. He shrugged and ran up the stairs. A man, Abdul-Rahman, and a woman were the ones to greet the tired people.

Abdul-Rahman-
"Welcome everyone! I apologize that most of our group is asleep, we have been working all through the night. If you would like to rest, I recommend you go to the top floor. Everyone is sleeping in the community center today, until we prepare rooms. You are welcome to go there, we have some food and water for you as well."

The woman shyly nodded.

Woman-
"My name's Susie, please let me know if you need any help getting upstairs."

Ben-
Once inside the 403 building, Ben was very eager to exchange information with Abdul-Rahman.
"I live here too, but tell me about that radio. And have you seen any ghosts? Or demons?"

Abdul-Rahman-
"Oh yes, we've radios on the roof and down here in the garage. They haven't much range but they have been useful to us."

He showed Ben a small walkie-talkie device with "AMAZON" emblazoned on it.

Abdul-Rahman -
"Ghosts... I am not certain, I am afraid. One zombie looked like a normal woman, and even spoke and lured us into her room. She floated and... well, it was rather disgusting. Perhaps this is a 'ghost' as you say?"

[Gillsing]

(Continuing the conversation from the "converse here" thread.)

"Nooo," Ben said hesitantly. "I think that sounds more like a demon. The ghost I saw was floating upside-down, but it wasn't talking, and Sarah said that they paralyse with their eyes and kill by touch. I don't know which is more dangerous, but they're both more dangerous than zombies. I think the demon we saw turned a cop into a zombie just by talking to him. Or something like that."

Ben was a bit disappointed that the radio just seemed to be a walkie-talkie for use within the building. He had hoped that there would have been some useful news from outside the city, perhaps from the government, or the military, or someone else who might have more information about the big picture. But the people here seemed to have things well organised, so he wasn't that disappointed.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Susie- (to Ben)
"Oh, I think I saw you once or twice. You lived here before, like me. And that guy that ran upstairs, too. Uh, welcome back, but things have gotten a little weird here. Your apartments might be a little messed up, but hopefully not too bad."

[DKender]

In the harsh morning light, Alex could witness every gore-spattered detail around him. The surreal detachment he'd experienced during the night was quickly replaced by something grimmer. He breathed a relieved sigh when Abdul-Rahman welcomed them to the 403 building. They weren't safe, but they were safer, and maybe somebody had French toast with jam in the community center.

Alex counted heads. Remarkably, everybody made it. Grandfather Luke, Ben's lovely entourage, Coach Davin, the doctor (sans tights, unfortunately - those were hilarious), Micah, and ... where was Patti? He remembered that she took a detour for guns. He shifted anxiously, hoping she'd return unharmed.

As Ben asked radio-related questions, Alex pulled out his wallet and flipped through its pictures. They were all he had now: them and his little silver crucifix. He desperately wanted to contact family and friends, just to reassure himself that they were safe, but how? Alex had a sudden idea, and it frightened him. He glanced at Nat. He'd need Nat for this, considering the guy's special interests. It might be dangerous; the shy barista would need to warm up to him first. Well, no problem. Alex could win over anyone (well, almost) eventually. He just had to be persistent!

Casually, he ambled next to Nat and said, "Hey, Bud, Mr. Abdul said they're setting up rooms. We should share one. Maybe us and another guy." Alex looked at Sarah and blushed faintly. "Unless you two want to stick together." Nat didn’t wear a wedding band, but Alex knew full well that most people didn't wait until marriage to share a bed.

[Gillsing]

Ben nodded at Susie, and started to remove his gloves and helmet.

"Yeah, I'm Ben Hanson. Was over at the Westlake Center last night, and we had to get out of there because of ghosts. Sandy and Sonya here worked at the Daiso store with Kaito. I think some of the others might have worked in the mall as well, but most of us were just customers. We made it to an apartment building not too far from here. That's where we spent the night. So I guess I know what happens to empty apartments."

Ben still hoped that no one had wrecked too much of his stuff, since most of it would be pretty useless when fighting zombies. Then again, what use would he have for it now? The computers and the TV wouldn't work without power, and that covered most of what he had. There was the manga collection, if it hadn't been turned into kindling. And maybe someone his size had wanted new clothes?

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

(copied from Brett's previous post)
Patti banged on the door.

Patti-
"Humans here! Let us in, please!" The door opened a crack and a middle eastern man spoke from within.


Abdul-Rahman-
"Hello. You are welcome to come in if you can answer a question."


Patti-
"Seriously? A fucking riddle? Who are you, fucking Gollum?"


Abdul-Rahman-
"I'm sorry, I must insist. It is for everyone's safety."


Patti-
"Hurry up then."


Abdul-Rahman-
"First, m'am, what is your favorite food?"


Patti-
"Coconut cream pie."


Abdul-Rahman-
"And, sir, with the gun, your first kiss?"


Tyrone-
"Janet Jackson. No, not that one. Let us in!"


Abdul-Rahman-
"One more. Mexican sir, where were you born?"


Hector-
"Aztec, New Mexico. Please let us in."

With the last answer, the door was opened and the group was let in. The man moved a wooden barricade back to block the door.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Ben, if you'd like to check out your apartment, go to the Fifth floor. You will find it mostly undisturbed, but the door has been kicked open. (I'm assuming Ben doesn't have any pets.)

[Thy Dungyeon Maestyr]

Anna-
"Haha, figures. Davin was all hot to get here and dragging us along was secondary to whatever he's run upstairs for. What an ass." She paced the small lit area of the garage trying to clear her head from the hellride outside.

Jackson-
Jackson obviously wanted to say something like "Be nice, baby," but bit his lip.

Anna-
"Well damn it's good to see you, Patti, Tyrone. Looks like you dragged your whole apartment over the finish line. Nice!"

Tyrone-
"An' a little bit of Mejico. Hector here was all Tokyo Drif' on th' way."

Hector-
"This is the part where I piss my pants and die." He slumped to the ground, back against a wall.

Sonya-
"I... feel like Mister Hector." She wiped sweat from her brow. "What do we do now? Where to rest?"

Kaito-
For the first time in a while, Kaito looked directly at Ben, as if daring him to suggest his room... He looked creepy in the dim light, a hand now on Sonya's shoulder.

Sandy-
"Yeah, Abdul. You guys should get the hospitality wagon down here, pronto."

Abdul-Rahman-
"I believe Kenneth has arranged this. Be patient a moment longer, though if anyone wishes to go upstairs first, obviously we will not stop you."

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

Patti and Tyrone lumped the duffels onto the trunk of a nearby car and stretched their limbs. She patted Hector on the arm. "Thanks for sticking with us, Hector. Find out where you can stash that food and then get some rest." She turned to Tyrone. "Keep that bag close until you and I have a chance to sit down and figure out how we're distributing them. I don't want untrained people or unstable people running around with our artillery. Let's find Anna and see if she'll watch the guns while we tour the facilities."

[∆§Indea§∆]

Micah leaned against a nearby car, watching the others talking. He was relieved to see Patti return, he hadn't talked to her much but the woman had her head screwed on right. Micah hoped that this place was better equipped than the last.

He wondered how everyone would take the fall out, once they realised they were playing for real. People were really going fucking to die, they'd been too lucky so far. Micah would be happy as long as it wasn't him. He wandered over to Alex, Nat and Sarah, offering them a relieved grin.

[DKender]

When Micah approaches, Alex will try to pull him into a one-armed celebratory hug, though his attention is still focused on Nat. THE HUG IS INESCAPABLE! Just kidding. Micah can lean away or tell him to stop being a weirdo, and Alex will behave himself.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

A short guy with funny hair came barreling in from the stairwell, panting.

Man-
"Dude! Abdul, you were right! Look at all these people!"


Abdul-Rahman-
"Wonderful, Kenneth. Is someone else coming?"


Kenny-
"Yeah, Snake's right behind me."

He moved out, smiling and shooting finger guns at the cute ladies. Another man stepped out of the stairwell more calmly, a tall man with green eyes and a subtly blood spattered shirt covered with a patterned scarf.

"Snake"-
"Wow! How about that...!"

The tall man did a whistle to get everyone's attention.

"Snake"-
"Hi everyone! Welcome to 403. My name's Seth, and this is Kenny. Please come to the top floor, we'll get you some breakfast and you can sleep if you need to."

[Gillsing]

Ben-
"Well, there you go," Ben said to the Daiso gang. "The hospitality wagon has arrived."

Before leaving with the people going upstairs he turned to Abdul-Rahman.

"Looks like you've got an excellent organisation going here. We just spent the night in an empty apartment, almost twenty people on the floor. We could've spread out more of course, but we thought it would be safer to gather in one place so that a few could stay awake and watch out for ghosts."

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

Patti leaned close to Anna and Tyrone. "Let's not go advertising the guns yet. I'd like to drop these off somewhere and leave someone stable to guard them, so others can tour the facility and see how secure it is. Anna, if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you could keep an eye on them."