Go back across the meadow and check around the corner of the castle

From Create Your Own Story

The figures in the woods are probably zombies, you decide. There wouldn't be any reason for Jack and Holly to go in there. You jog back across the meadow. Most likely, they would have stayed close to the castle. Maybe they're around this corner.

You step around the corner cautiously, pistol at the ready. No one seems to be there. The castle wall is crumbling here. Large stones litter the grass. To the left are more woods. You continue advancing, alert for any danger.

You look at the sun, sinking lower in the western sky. You've got to get back before dark, but you don't want to come back empty-handed. You decide to call out. "Holly? Jack? Are you there? Are you all right?"

The response isn't the one you wanted. Zombies, drawn by the sound, burst out of the forest and charge towards you. You empty your pistol into the first wave and slice and dice the survivors into pieces with your sword. You swiftly reload your pistol as another wave of undead, at least fifty of them, began advancing on you.

"Fuck," you say out loud. You turn and begin to run, trying to get back around the corner, hoping you won't get pinned between the zombie horde and the castle wall. You fire at zombies as you move, your markswomanship excellent, each shot drilling a hole in a zombie head, but there are just too many of them. You turn on the jets, but the zombies are just closing in too fast. With a sigh, you prepare to make a heroic last stand.

Suddenly, a long burst of machine gun fire mows down an entire row of zombies. Then come rifle shots, causing zombie heads to explode one by one. You look up and see a helicopter overhead. A machine gun is mounted underneath it, and the man at the controls fires again, cutting down several more creatures. Behind the pilot, a uniformed woman is continuing to fire at the undead with the rifle. With a shriek of delight, you join in, shooting more zombies with your pistol, and race around the corner of the castle and into the open meadow. The whirlybird lands near you and you race towards it eagerly.

"Thank you," you say, looking at the woman. She is young and pretty, with auburn hair and a high-cheekboned face. "Great timing."

She smiles. "It's what we came out here to do. I'm Lieutenant Commander Henson, U.S. Navy."

"Major Riggins, U.S. Army," the pilot introduces himself.

"I'm Marina." You shake both their hands and climb into the helicopter. "I was out here looking for a couple of my friends who went out on zombie patrol. Can we look for them? There are also several people inside the castle."

Riggins looks at his instruments. "We'll have to make it quick. We're already low on fuel. Too much longer and we won't make it back to base."

Henson is scanning the horizon. "What's that, over there?"

"Let's take a look." The pilot lifts the helicopter into the air, flying in the direction the Navy woman is pointing. You can see distant bodies roaming around on the ground.

As you get closer, you see with horror that Jack and Holly are there, standing back to back in the middle of hundreds of zombies, fighting back with swords and axes. Riggins opens up with the helicopter's machine gun, mowing down undead, trying to clear a space. You and Henson fire into the zombies closest to Holly and Jack, being careful not to hit the humans. Your pistol clicks empty and you quickly slap your last magazine in.

"All right! We're going in!" Riggins brings the chopper down into the newly created open space. Jack and Holly make a break for it as you and Henson try to clear a path for them. But zombies charge the helicopter from both sides. Henson whirls, reloading her rifle very fast as she turns, and begins shooting down the zombies on the other side as you continue to shoot the creatures near Holly and Jack. The mounted machine gun, which can only fire forward, is of no help here.

Two zombies leap at you. You chop their heads off with one swift swing of your sword. Behind you, Henson smashes a zombie skull into pulp with the butt of her rifle. "There's too many of them! They're going to swarm the chopper!" she shouts.

Riggins lifts the bird up again, firing into the zombie mass with the machine gun, but more zombies are pouring out of the woods. Then the machine gun clicks empty. "We can't do it!" he shouts. "If we set down again, we're never getting back up!"

"No! We can't leave them!" you say.

Henson grabs your shoulder. "I'm sorry. But there's no choice."

• "You're right. Let's try to pick up the others in the castle."
• Try to save Jack and Holly...at any cost

Status
Health	80	Equipment: Pistol, sword
MP	#
Level	#