MAFIA 63: THE SCOURGE [HIDDEN]

[Jamiet99uk]

Ok fine, to break the tie:

##Vote ND

[Chaqa]

I will not vote for Maniac or ND.

The blood can be on someone else's hands.

Eden is scum.

so you'd rather leave it at a tie?

I can't in good conscious make the deciding vote on either of them.

[brainbomb]

I think he creates interesting wagons for info, yes.

Do you? I think he scumreads people and votes them for it. A brief check of the past three games on the Bot saw him justify every single D1 vote he'd made.

Well, why not then. ##vote rdr

what?? lol

[Durga]

Tied at 4 to go christ

I ain't movin

I don't think you've given a reason for maniac so... Why are you so adament that you aren't moving?

[Hellenic Riot]

I think he creates interesting wagons for info, yes.

Do you? I think he scumreads people and votes them for it. A brief check of the past three games on the Bot saw him justify every single D1 vote he'd made.

Well, why not then. ##vote rdr

You're really the last person I expected to follow me based on something I'd noticed from botchecking D1's, but I'll take it

[President Eden]

Boo. I tried.

##VOTE Maniac

INB4 Chaqa "Wait, you guys actually voted for Eden?"

[e.m.c^42]

##vote Maniac, like this better.

[DemonRHK]

Tied at 4 to go christ

I ain't movin

I don't think you've given a reason for maniac so... Why are you so adament that you aren't moving?

I have called him out since page 2

[President Eden]

Jamie sus

[e.m.c^42]

Do you? I think he scumreads people and votes them for it. A brief check of the past three games on the Bot saw him justify every single D1 vote he'd made.

Well, why not then. ##vote rdr

You're really the last person I expected to follow me based on something I'd noticed from botchecking D1's, but I'll take it

I'd stay except tie, lmao

[Chaqa]

IF ND FLIPS SCUM: I don't think it's likely, but remember that Durga, ghug, and Bozo did this same thing to Summit a few games ago.

[celaph]

##vote maniac to avoid a tie. I prefer ND, but rather a death over a tie.

[Tom Bombadil]

DAY HAS ENDED PLEASE HOLD

[Tom Bombadil]

D1 Final Vote Count (PLEASE PM ME IMMEDIATELY WITH ANY CONCERNS)

Maniac: 9 (damo666, aarodactyl, President Eden, Bonatogether, DemonRHK, emc, Donny Dude, brainbomb, Presiden Eden, e.m.c.^42, celaph)

ND: 6 (ghug, Durga, Hamilton Brian, bozotheclown, Maniac, Jamiet99uk)

Hellenic Riot: 2 (rdrivera2005, BunnyGo)

Jamiet99uk: 1 (Vecna)

Rdrivera2005: 1 (Hellenic Riot)

President Eden: 1 (Chaqa)

PLEASE CONTINUE TO HOLD

[Tom Bombadil]

CHAPTER 2

Jess leaned back in her chair, her sides hurting from laughter. In front of her Margaret continued her impression of Jess’s mother, Captain Amanda Bates, with startling accuracy. Jess’s other roommates Samantha and Kaitlyn also struggled to contain their amusement. Eventually Margaret sat back down, her tour de force performance complete.

It had been two days since graduation, and they had not yet been forced into a skirmish. And while that cloud hung over her, Jessica felt happier than she had in a long time. Until a few weeks ago when training started, she had lived with her mother. She loved her mother very much, but with the weight of the settlement on her shoulders, there was not much time for levity. Now, stationed on the outskirts of the town – as close to the geyser field as possible – with peers her own age, she felt home.

“Your turn! Your turn!” exclaimed Margaret, gesturing in Jessica’s direction.

“I can’t make fun of my mom,” Jess replied. “That’s not fair.”

“Come on…” said Samantha. “You should be better at it than all of us.”

“Okay, okay,” replied Jess, now standing.

Jess made her way to the center of the room and stood up straight.

“Private daughter! You need to clean your room double-time! The people of this settlement depend on you. Without your work, without everyone chipping in, we will perish.”

The girls all bust out laughing.

That is when the alarm sounded, piercing through their moment of escape. The low pitch bellowed throughout the barracks and the girls scrambled to their feet and towards their lockers. Jess began tossing on her layers, and suddenly felt the anxiety rush into her body. She looked across at Samantha where she also dressed. If she was worried, her face did not betray her fears. Now dressed, the four of them rushed out of their quarters and towards the settlement gate.

At the gate they rendezvoused with the rest of her class. Together they made up the Seventh Regiment. Captain Bates wore her armor at the head of the group and began barking orders.

“Category 4 geyser eruption spotted six kilometers east. Regiments 1, 2, and 5 will make for the geyser. Regiment 7 will act as reserves. For now, you hang back and observe unless I say otherwise. The rest will stay here and defend. Move out!”

Jess fell into line as they began jogging with the other regiments. While she ran, she thought back on her training. A category 4 geyser was large, which is why they marched with so many troops. And being six kilometers away, it was very unlikely that they would beat the Scourge there – meaning there would likely be conflict. She gripped her laser rifle more closely, and fell into a rhythm, listening to the sound of dozens of boots slamming into the hard packed snow.

After what seemed like eternity, Jess saw the geyser field ahead of her. A geyser in the center was simmering with steam leaking out, the snow surrounding it completely melted away. She scanned the horizon as they slowed to a halt but saw no movement. Maybe they had beaten the Scourge here after all. Jess looked at Margaret who stood next to her, shoulders rising and falling rapidly as she caught her breath. Jess was also winded but could only imagine how Margaret felt making the same journey except with a 110 liter metal containment canister strapped to her back. Margaret met her eyes, smiled, and gave a quick thumbs up.

“Line up! Ready the cannisters!” shouted Captain Bates. “Seventh Regimen - Infantry and Runners hang back and observe. Listen to my command. Gunners take the left flank and provide support.”

Jessica nodded, and leapt into action along with her Gunner partner Samantha. They moved up the landscape, towards some high ground about 150 meters away from the geyser. She took her rifle off her shoulder and opened up the small tripod attached to the barrel. Now laying in the prone position, she scanned through the rifle scope at the geyser. Still no movement.

“Move out!” Jess heard the command from below and took her eyes out of the site and watched as the three regiments rushed towards the now spewing geyser. The gas was invisible to the eye, except for the heat creating steam and clouding the air above. The regiments rushed quickly, Infantry in front with their spears and armor, and the Runners right behind – with nothing but the large canisters strapped to their backs. They reached the geyser, and the Runners began to unstrap the canisters and place them over the geyser. There was a process that they had down to a science. The first Runner would fill up the cannister and then step aside while the canister compressed the gas and made space for more. While that was happening, the next Runner would fill their cannister. By the time each had completed the initial fill, the first Runner was ready for the second trip. Depending on the size of the geyser, they could fill and compress half a dozen times before each canister was full of completely compressed fuel. Jess watched as they began going through for the second time.

“AAAAAAAAAEIEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIII.”

The high-pitched shriek was like nothing Jessica had ever heard before. They had talked about this in class, but she was not prepared for the piercing sound. Her eyes followed the noise north, where she first laid eyes on the Scourge.

Roughly twenty figures crested the hill in the distance; the Scourge had arrived. Jess looked through the scope on her rifle to take a closer look. The beasts were bipedal, and resembled humans in that they had the same limb structure, but these creatures were massive in comparison to humans. They stood roughly 13 feet tall, a leathery hide covered their body. They had metal armor coverings and brandished clubs or hammers made of stone. Jessica felt the sweat begin to drench the fabric in her gloves.

The Scourge leader shrieked again, this time raising his hammer in the air. Behind him, the other shrieked as well.

“AAAIIIEEEEEEEEEEE”

Then they charged.

They moved with a speed that Jessica was not expecting. Their tall statue combined with a long gait propelled them forward and in what only seemed like a heartbeat they were bearing down on the geyser field and approaching the deployed troops. Red lasers began flashing from the surrounding hills as the rest of the Gunners started shooting at the Scourge. It was a sight to behold, the red streaks alighting the white snowy landscape. This was not the time to become overwhelmed, however. Jess took a deep breath and then brough her eye back to the scope.

She tracked the creatures in her scope, but it was much more difficult to hit a target moving at that speed. She began shooting anyway, hoping to get lucky and score a hit. She missed badly. Red streaks surrounded the Scourge but she did not score any hits. She focused back out, moving her scope towards the geyser. If she could not bring down beast moving, she would focus on protecting the geyser. As she moved her rifle back towards the geyser, she was several of the Scourge fall, taken down by laser fire.

“Gods,” she thought. “They are way better than I am. How are they so accurate?”

She looked back down her scope at the geyser. And handful of Scourge had made it to the front lines and were now met by the Infantry – their long spears jabbing forward, designed to keep the larger Scourge at a distance, away from themselves and the defenseless Runners. A Scourge shrieked as a spear impaled it in the stomach as black blood spilled out of its gut. The solider yanked the spear out of its gut, but the spear was lodged into the dying beast. Then suddenly, the soldier disappeared, leaving behind a red mist as a massive hammer swung by a neighboring Scourge exploded through muscle and bone. Jess winced, and fired – hitting the beast in the chest, black burn marks surrounding where the laser entered the beast.

“Seventh Regiment – Runners grab the fallen canisters and retreat. Infantry support!” Jess felt her heart drop. They were being called into action on their very first run. She looked just south of the geyser at the bodies of two fallen Runners, their partially filled cannisters resting in the snow. She saw her friends charge, making their way to the cannisters. The rest of the regiments stopped filling, and began taking defensive maneuvers as they organized the retreat. Runners with full canisters fled back behind the lines as the infantry slowly followed, engaging any creatures that got too close.

The Seventh Regiment reached the fallen canisters, and two runners picked up the full cannisters, having previously discarder their empty ones. The began strapping the new cannisters to their back, as the Infantry surrounded their defenseless peers.

Several Scourge raced towards them, clubs in hand. Jess took aim and fired, hitting the first creature in the leg, dropping it to the ground immediately. It likely was not fatal but would slow it down enough for them to make their retreat. She moved her scope to the second Scourge, but just as she got it into her sight, the beast fell – a red laser slicing through its head. Samantha yipped with glee beside her. Jess continued to move her scope methodically taking aim at the creatures. The last one engaged one of the Infantry. Even this far away Jess could hear the metal clang of the club hitting the infantry armor.

Jessica took a long breath and aimed at the chest of the beast. She fired. The red laser passed harmlessly over the shoulder of the Scourge, and Jessica cursed. Another laser melted snow at the feet of the Scourge – Samantha had also missed the shot. The creature slammed the club into the solider, knocking her off her feet, spear tossed in the air and then buried beneath the snow. The Scourge stepped toward the fallen solider and raised its club.

Jessica panicked as fear rose in her body. Her hand trembled as she aimed at the beast. She pulled the trigger as fast as she could, red streaks filling the aim zooming past the creature. The club swung down in a blur, and a sick crunch followed.

“No, no, no.” Jess cried, tears streaming down her face.

Finally, a hit brought down the creature, but it was too late...


MANIAC HAS DIED. They were Private Lindsay Graff, a VANILLA TOWNIE

NIGHT HAS BEGUN YOU MAY NOW POST

[Hellenic Riot]

I wish I had any idea where this interesting flavour comes from

[President Eden]

RIP LINDSEY GONE TOO SOON I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY KILLED YOU

[brainbomb]

Way to break our hearts Tom. This flavour. my god.

[President Eden]

I wish I had any idea where this interesting flavour comes from

Tom Bomb is writing his own sci-fi story

[Jamiet99uk]

RIP Maniac

##CALL GM: Do you have a sub for ND?