Day 26 of Summer, Year 0 After Cataclysm.
While driving past a megamall, I disembarked from my rolling fortress to clear out some of the minor hordes hanging around the parking lot. It all went swimmingly, until everyone got on the receiving end of a hail of gunfire. It turns out that there was a light tank sitting just outside the edge of the screen and the fight had wandered into the range of its turrets. I gotta say, whatever company designed the aiming software for the turret, it is shit. The bullets sprayed everywhere, half of them not even hitting any zeds. A pickup truck and some other vehicle blew up when stray bullets met their gas tanks.
My ears rang from the explosion, deafened.
On the overmap blinking green 'Z’s appeared from the depths of the megamall where they had lain unseen, drawn to the commotion. Shit.
I climbed into my Heavy Survivor RV as quickly as possible, a task made complicated by the fact that I was wearing rollerblades. Then I floored the pedal, driving out of town. Just in time too. I the other hulk was drawn by the explosion as well. I gave chase, but it’s not faster than a my RV. I watched the pursuing hulk recede into the distance from my wing mirror. My body aches from the aftershock of explosion.
I finally stopped a dozen map tiles away next to the entrance of a lab yet explored. A green Z on the overmap blinks ominously, where I spied the raging hulk through my binoculars.
Right. Now that I have calmed down a bit, I decided on the next step of the plan. Most zombies I can handle easily. I got 15 in throwing and archery skills, 11 in rifles, and 10 in marksmanship. But with only STR 8, it cost me over 200 movepoints to aim and fire my reflex recurve bow. Fine for dealing with most zeds but not so good an idea when faced with a hulk. In the end I equipped myself with the pneumatic assault rifle (with steel bearing rounds), a steel spear and rollerblades for kiting. I didn’t use my throwing knives. Last time I did that, it just bounced off their stupidly mighty thews.
Having armed myself, I skated down the road in good time. 65 move cost is pretty sweet. I followed the hulk north up the highway, the hulk constantly just out of sight even though I’m wearing rollerblades on pavements. Man, hulks are pretty fast for their size, aren’t they?
Fortunately, the hulk got distracted playing ping pong with some triffids, allowing me to catch up. Once it had turned the triffids into pulpy smears on the ground, it turned on me. It starts charging. I opened fire on full auto, expending 15 steel bearings on its face and bringing it down to ‘moderately injured’.
It didn’t stop.
Right just it came to my face I tazed it. Huh, shouldn’t the big Z character be slightly washed out, to indicate the ‘stunned’ status? No matter. I proceed to poke with my steel spear, since it’ll take too long to reload the rifle. Next thing I know, I’m lying face down almost a dozen tiles away, sans 30 hp.
I struggled to get up.
Note to self: Tazers don’t work on hulks.
I got up just before it closed in completely. I legged it, bringing the movement cost down to thirty something. With a move pool of around 80 (lowered due to pain), it should allow me to outpace the hulk while making reach attacks with the spear.
I managed to to get two or three shots in before finding myself face-down half a dozen tile away for second time.
Note to self: Hulks are really fast.
I chalked it up to their longer strides or something, but that info doesn’t help me. I got up again, now in even more pain and reduced move-pool. I ran away while kiting with the spear. I got punted another two or three times before the hulk finally succumbs to its wounds. I dragged myself to the massive corpse and starts whaling on it, reducing it into pulp. I really don’t want to to face the same hulk a second time. A curious raccoon ambled close, watching me in my morbid task. It was nearly sun down when I was finished.
Slowly, painfully, I starts the trek back to base.
