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[LP CYOA] Spiral
- Thread starter treave
- Start date
Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
There, it's fixed now. Just choose the RPGCodex style:
http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?misc/style
The quote function, sadly, is not available with the old theme yet.
http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?misc/style
The quote function, sadly, is not available with the old theme yet.
Last edited:
a cut of domestic sheep prime
Guest
Yolo 
Time to see if the substance in the thermometer has any effect on zombies. I say substance because in some countries, it is no longer mercury.
Time to see if the substance in the thermometer has any effect on zombies. I say substance because in some countries, it is no longer mercury.
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
You run your finger across the smooth glass surface of the thermometer in your pocket. The length should be more than suitable for your purposes. You breath in twice, and then begin walking across the room at a brisk but measured pace. Haste is risky. For the first time today, your posture is calm, though underneath that collected exterior is a seething hive of tension. Can I make it? Will it work? What if I mess up? If things do not play out as you have pictured in your mind…
There is no time for further consideration of your actions; you can think of little else to do at this point.
Mori is the only one to notice your approach as you step up behind the dead yet frisky Dr. Usui. He opens his mouth to call out your name, surprised and wary. “Shinoseki-“ He does not get to finish before you act.
One.
Your right hand zips out of your pocket, lashing forward like a snake, with the thermometer held tightly between your fingers as you would a pen. Given the shape and size of the medical instrument, precision is more important than force here. You would have preferred something made of metal, but sadly the departed doctor did not have anything like that on his person. Returning the thermometer to its owner, you slide the lengthy tube deep into his ear. Through your fingers you feel it catch, and then hit a barrier – the tympanic membrane – which you rupture with surprising ease.
Two.
You twist the thermometer, plunging it in even further. The three fragile ossicles behind the eardrum give way with a crunch as the tip of the glass tube breaks off, leaking its contents into the corpse’s ear. You push further. There is a soft squelch; the jagged end of the thermometer pierces into the inner canals. Dark, viscous blood creeps up the tube, swirling amidst the silvery mercury.
Three.
You snap off the thermometer with a flick of your wrist, and with a quick follow-up movement, slam your palm into the side of his head, knocking it limply to the side. Vestibular trauma, resulting in severe dizziness and loss of balance that may be quite possibly permanent. If it works…
The cervical bones of the deceased doctor’s neck detach with a disturbing pop as his head swivels around quickly in a half rotation. His mouth is wide open, the corners raised in a such a way that it almost looks like it is laughing. Taken by surprise at his unnatural movement and unable to retreat in time, he manages to bite down on your hand. You are too startled to even scream; the doctor’s jaws lock up and crunch your palm bones together savagely as he continues to attempt to chew your hand off. A piece of bloody flesh comes apart between his teeth and frees you from his bite. As you fall back, the doctor’s body whirls around – the cold hands letting go of Tokigawa and pointing towards you instead.
Then, he lets out an actual laugh; a deep, throaty, halting guffaw that unnerves everyone in the room. His teeth stained with your blood, he stares at you and you see – for the first time – something behind his dully glistening eyes. A flash of a dark shadow, or something similar… whatever it is, it knows you. The corpse gives you a bloody grin. “Shi…no…” He takes a shaky step towards you – somehow, he seems more sluggish than before.
“Get down, Shinoseki!” roars Mori.
You drop to the floor, your instincts taking over. It does not take a genius to know what Mori is going to do next.
Two more bullet holes appear at the center of Usui’s chest. He staggers, but does not stop. A second later, the third bullet strikes him in the forehead. His head jerks back… he wobbles, and his legs give way from under him.
“Is it… is it over?” asks Tokigawa breathlessly, his face still pale from fright.
As if in response to his question, Usui twitches, his limbs trashing around wildly. And as if on cue, the others let out a synchronized scream and begin fleeing the room.
“Of course it’s never over,” you mutter to yourself while cradling your bleeding hand. You try to get to your feet to follow them but stumble and fall – your head is feeling quite light at the moment. That’s not good. From behind you come the sounds of cracking bone and that halting laugh. Panic strikes at your heart – you can hear nothing but the laughter of the dead and the pulsation of your blood as you scramble to get back to your feet, to escape the room before you are caught.
“Come on, you idiot!” You feel a large, rough hand close around your collar, hauling you off to the exit. Mori aims behind him and takes another shot with his pistol. You hear the ping of lead on metal – it is a miss – but as he clears the exit while dragging you along, the others swiftly slam the doors to the ward shut. The pressure on your neck loosens as he drops you callously.
“The password… the password…” Okuyama mumbles, before her eyes brighten with the memory. She quickly taps at the keypad near the door. There is a loud click as the bolts slide shut – just in time, as an incessant banging starts up from the other side.
“Alright, what was that?” demands Maeda, her expensively coiffured hair now in slight disarray. Her eyes flash in anger as she stares at the rest of the group. “What is going on here?”
Before anyone can answer, a faint laughter floats down the corridor. It is coming from both directions – you can hardly make out whether the voices are male or female, but there is certainly more than one. Okuyama lets out a fearful whimper and clings to Tokigawa tightly. The trainee doctor grits his teeth. “We have to get out of here.”
“Definitely,” says Mori. “Let’s get back to the lobby and meet up with the others.”
“Wait.” Taketatsu interrupts them before they can leave. “Are we just leaving like this, with him?” He points a finger at you accusingly.
“Wh-What do you mean? I didn’t kill the doctor,” you stammer. “I… I think everyone should understand that by now.”
“The dead thing did say your name… but regardless of that, it bit you, didn’t it?” retorts Taketatsu. Almost instinctively, you pull your injured hand closer to your body, trying to hide it from his piercing sight. Taketatsu smiles coldly. “We don’t know what that bite could do. It could be some type of new infectious disease. I suggest we do not let Shinoseki-san travel with us… he could become dangerous.”
Everyone in the group is silent as they digest Taketatsu’s words.
“If it is a problem, we can cut his hand off,” interjects Uehara quickly. “He tried to save Tokigawa-san after all. That’s why he was bitten. We shouldn't leave him here.” You appreciate her speaking up for you, but isn't she jumping to conclusions too quickly by wanting your hand cut off?
“Y…yeah, you’re right,” Tokigawa nods. “I can’t leave him here. But removing his hand… that’s just…”
Taketatsu looks around him, a frown of disgust twisting his clean looks. “I can’t believe this. Are you all so naïve? We should sort this out before we go anywhere with this person.”
“Shinichi, if you are worried, we can compromise and have Shinoseki tied up,” says Maeda impatiently. “Now is probably not the time for this conversation.”
***
01:40
A. You decide to try cooperating with them to a certain extent.
1. “…” You say nothing. You’ll let them decide what to do with you, but they better hurry.
2. “No… I will come along, and on my own terms.” You insist to be treated fairly and equally.
3. “S-Sure… tie me up…” It’s alright to be tied up if it makes them happy. You can probably slip out of it anyway.
4. “Okay…take my hand if you want.” You are worried about the possibility of infection. Perhaps it is better to chop quickly...
5. "Mori-san... why do you have a gun?" You attempt to deflect the attention towards Mori and off of yourself.
B. You run from them. You do not want to be around these people anyway – helping them only gets yourself in trouble.
1. You take Maeda hostage to cover your escape.
2. You take Okuyama hostage to cover your escape.
3. You take Uehara hostage to cover your escape.
4. You escape by yourself.
C. Mori’s gun is still in his hands. You attempt to snatch it from him and:
1. take Maeda hostage to cover your escape.
2. take Okuyama hostage to cover your escape.
3. take Uehara hostage to cover your escape.
4. escape by yourself.
5. threaten everyone into doing your bidding with it.
There is no time for further consideration of your actions; you can think of little else to do at this point.
Mori is the only one to notice your approach as you step up behind the dead yet frisky Dr. Usui. He opens his mouth to call out your name, surprised and wary. “Shinoseki-“ He does not get to finish before you act.
One.
Your right hand zips out of your pocket, lashing forward like a snake, with the thermometer held tightly between your fingers as you would a pen. Given the shape and size of the medical instrument, precision is more important than force here. You would have preferred something made of metal, but sadly the departed doctor did not have anything like that on his person. Returning the thermometer to its owner, you slide the lengthy tube deep into his ear. Through your fingers you feel it catch, and then hit a barrier – the tympanic membrane – which you rupture with surprising ease.
Two.
You twist the thermometer, plunging it in even further. The three fragile ossicles behind the eardrum give way with a crunch as the tip of the glass tube breaks off, leaking its contents into the corpse’s ear. You push further. There is a soft squelch; the jagged end of the thermometer pierces into the inner canals. Dark, viscous blood creeps up the tube, swirling amidst the silvery mercury.
Three.
You snap off the thermometer with a flick of your wrist, and with a quick follow-up movement, slam your palm into the side of his head, knocking it limply to the side. Vestibular trauma, resulting in severe dizziness and loss of balance that may be quite possibly permanent. If it works…
The cervical bones of the deceased doctor’s neck detach with a disturbing pop as his head swivels around quickly in a half rotation. His mouth is wide open, the corners raised in a such a way that it almost looks like it is laughing. Taken by surprise at his unnatural movement and unable to retreat in time, he manages to bite down on your hand. You are too startled to even scream; the doctor’s jaws lock up and crunch your palm bones together savagely as he continues to attempt to chew your hand off. A piece of bloody flesh comes apart between his teeth and frees you from his bite. As you fall back, the doctor’s body whirls around – the cold hands letting go of Tokigawa and pointing towards you instead.
Then, he lets out an actual laugh; a deep, throaty, halting guffaw that unnerves everyone in the room. His teeth stained with your blood, he stares at you and you see – for the first time – something behind his dully glistening eyes. A flash of a dark shadow, or something similar… whatever it is, it knows you. The corpse gives you a bloody grin. “Shi…no…” He takes a shaky step towards you – somehow, he seems more sluggish than before.
“Get down, Shinoseki!” roars Mori.
You drop to the floor, your instincts taking over. It does not take a genius to know what Mori is going to do next.
Two more bullet holes appear at the center of Usui’s chest. He staggers, but does not stop. A second later, the third bullet strikes him in the forehead. His head jerks back… he wobbles, and his legs give way from under him.
“Is it… is it over?” asks Tokigawa breathlessly, his face still pale from fright.
As if in response to his question, Usui twitches, his limbs trashing around wildly. And as if on cue, the others let out a synchronized scream and begin fleeing the room.
“Of course it’s never over,” you mutter to yourself while cradling your bleeding hand. You try to get to your feet to follow them but stumble and fall – your head is feeling quite light at the moment. That’s not good. From behind you come the sounds of cracking bone and that halting laugh. Panic strikes at your heart – you can hear nothing but the laughter of the dead and the pulsation of your blood as you scramble to get back to your feet, to escape the room before you are caught.
“Come on, you idiot!” You feel a large, rough hand close around your collar, hauling you off to the exit. Mori aims behind him and takes another shot with his pistol. You hear the ping of lead on metal – it is a miss – but as he clears the exit while dragging you along, the others swiftly slam the doors to the ward shut. The pressure on your neck loosens as he drops you callously.
“The password… the password…” Okuyama mumbles, before her eyes brighten with the memory. She quickly taps at the keypad near the door. There is a loud click as the bolts slide shut – just in time, as an incessant banging starts up from the other side.
“Alright, what was that?” demands Maeda, her expensively coiffured hair now in slight disarray. Her eyes flash in anger as she stares at the rest of the group. “What is going on here?”
Before anyone can answer, a faint laughter floats down the corridor. It is coming from both directions – you can hardly make out whether the voices are male or female, but there is certainly more than one. Okuyama lets out a fearful whimper and clings to Tokigawa tightly. The trainee doctor grits his teeth. “We have to get out of here.”
“Definitely,” says Mori. “Let’s get back to the lobby and meet up with the others.”
“Wait.” Taketatsu interrupts them before they can leave. “Are we just leaving like this, with him?” He points a finger at you accusingly.
“Wh-What do you mean? I didn’t kill the doctor,” you stammer. “I… I think everyone should understand that by now.”
“The dead thing did say your name… but regardless of that, it bit you, didn’t it?” retorts Taketatsu. Almost instinctively, you pull your injured hand closer to your body, trying to hide it from his piercing sight. Taketatsu smiles coldly. “We don’t know what that bite could do. It could be some type of new infectious disease. I suggest we do not let Shinoseki-san travel with us… he could become dangerous.”
Everyone in the group is silent as they digest Taketatsu’s words.
“If it is a problem, we can cut his hand off,” interjects Uehara quickly. “He tried to save Tokigawa-san after all. That’s why he was bitten. We shouldn't leave him here.” You appreciate her speaking up for you, but isn't she jumping to conclusions too quickly by wanting your hand cut off?
“Y…yeah, you’re right,” Tokigawa nods. “I can’t leave him here. But removing his hand… that’s just…”
Taketatsu looks around him, a frown of disgust twisting his clean looks. “I can’t believe this. Are you all so naïve? We should sort this out before we go anywhere with this person.”
“Shinichi, if you are worried, we can compromise and have Shinoseki tied up,” says Maeda impatiently. “Now is probably not the time for this conversation.”
***
01:40
A. You decide to try cooperating with them to a certain extent.
1. “…” You say nothing. You’ll let them decide what to do with you, but they better hurry.
2. “No… I will come along, and on my own terms.” You insist to be treated fairly and equally.
3. “S-Sure… tie me up…” It’s alright to be tied up if it makes them happy. You can probably slip out of it anyway.
4. “Okay…take my hand if you want.” You are worried about the possibility of infection. Perhaps it is better to chop quickly...
5. "Mori-san... why do you have a gun?" You attempt to deflect the attention towards Mori and off of yourself.
B. You run from them. You do not want to be around these people anyway – helping them only gets yourself in trouble.
1. You take Maeda hostage to cover your escape.
2. You take Okuyama hostage to cover your escape.
3. You take Uehara hostage to cover your escape.
4. You escape by yourself.
C. Mori’s gun is still in his hands. You attempt to snatch it from him and:
1. take Maeda hostage to cover your escape.
2. take Okuyama hostage to cover your escape.
3. take Uehara hostage to cover your escape.
4. escape by yourself.
5. threaten everyone into doing your bidding with it.
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I guess that wasn't for #1 in zombie-killing... not for lack of effort, though!
I'm inclined to go with A4. Didn't we have some weird injury from a ghost that caused us a lot of trouble in some past death or something? It may be good to get that out of the way... then again, I guess that might depend on how they're thinking about amputating it.
I'm inclined to go with A4. Didn't we have some weird injury from a ghost that caused us a lot of trouble in some past death or something? It may be good to get that out of the way... then again, I guess that might depend on how they're thinking about amputating it.
Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
I flinched just reading the update. Good stuff. 
As much as I think that we should cut off the hand immediately before we suffer worse, I can't justify it. Not yet.
I can hardly believe my ears they are listening to that shmuck Taketatsu who stood paralyzed when we took the risk. Fuck him and everything he stands for.
I think if we come along, we should insist on doing so on our own terms. We have developed enough of a character not to concede this point. It's not like they have much time to argue or struggle with us. For the moment it's just Taketatsu's voice, and he is nobody important, so we can drown him out with ours.
And if he doesn't like it, well, we still have a stethoscope.
We might be able to cut off the hand later if there will be any symptoms of infections (which I am almost sure will surface before long).
That, or we should flee with Uehara. But I guess if we wanted to do that, we should have done so when we weren't down a thermometer and a working hand.
A2.
As much as I think that we should cut off the hand immediately before we suffer worse, I can't justify it. Not yet.
I can hardly believe my ears they are listening to that shmuck Taketatsu who stood paralyzed when we took the risk. Fuck him and everything he stands for.
I think if we come along, we should insist on doing so on our own terms. We have developed enough of a character not to concede this point. It's not like they have much time to argue or struggle with us. For the moment it's just Taketatsu's voice, and he is nobody important, so we can drown him out with ours.
And if he doesn't like it, well, we still have a stethoscope.
We might be able to cut off the hand later if there will be any symptoms of infections (which I am almost sure will surface before long).
That, or we should flee with Uehara. But I guess if we wanted to do that, we should have done so when we weren't down a thermometer and a working hand.
A2.
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In before
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
- Messages
- 29,887
Tigranes
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2009
- Messages
- 10,350
The time to gunsnatch or escape was before. It is not now. It won't work in our lightheaded state, and when everyone is watching us.
A2. Maybe they will get pissed and leave us alone, but equally we won't have the freedom to find out much about our situation if we're strung along. And who knows if hand amputation (what, are they going to try and get a surgical ward up and running?) lasts through the days, or something?
A2. Maybe they will get pissed and leave us alone, but equally we won't have the freedom to find out much about our situation if we're strung along. And who knows if hand amputation (what, are they going to try and get a surgical ward up and running?) lasts through the days, or something?
Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
They have very little reason to follow us if we try to escape. Taketatsu wants us gone in the first place.
Taking prisoners, though, would be tricky, but I think it might still be doable if we take the gun.
We have suffered through worse in the last three nights, and every time we are as good as new on the next one.
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